Point to prove for Bennett as Rás gets in gear
It’s the time of year when the term ‘next Sean Kelly’ often gets used, or misused, as Sam himself likes to think.
“I’m not the next Sean Kelly. I’m the next Sam Bennett,” he verses.
Since he shocked cycling in 2009 with a stage win in the then FBD Insurance Rás, everyone wants their share of Sam, including the UCI, who call to him frequently — and unannounced, for random blood samples.
“It’s just part of the life,” he says with a shrug. Some life it is too. The 20-year-old will wear the colours of the An Post Sean Kelly team for the eight-day event, which starts tomorrow. For Sam, it’s been the culmination of 10 years sheer effort, augmented by freakish talent.
“I’m just enjoying myself in Belgium,” he says. “I’m really happy, I have to say. The other lads know that if they need help in a race, I’ll give them 100% and I know I could ask for the same from them on any day.”
The same he says, applies to Kelly and Kurt Bogaerts, who manages the team. “They’re absolutely amazing. I know, sometimes, people in Ireland, don’t know what’s happening with the team, they don’t really see it but Sean and Kurt really look after the riders.”
The last year has been a whirlwind for Bennett. He spent two months off the bike after a head-on collision with a car training and in August he suffered tendonitis in both knees.
“Last year I was with LA Pomme (French-based feeder team to top ranked teams) and I didn’t really enjoy it. I was playing catch up for most of the year after the crash and just as I was starting to come around, they (La Pomme) put me on a different sized time-trial bike. They said I could generate more power but I just f*cked up my knees and I got tendonitis.
“I tried everything to get rid of it but it just wasn’t happening. Then Sean and Kurt said ‘look, we’d like you to see this guy in Limerick, he’s one of the best.’ So we went to Ger Hartman and he got me up and running by December last year.”
Since then he’s been slowly getting back to his best. Invites to compete in ProTour events like the Tour of Oman and Qatar were “like a dream”.
“I just found the sheer speed they can do unbelievable. U23s can go fast but they can’t go fast for five hours. Those tours are very hard and it was the experience I was lacking but I did a few similar races since and I’m starting to learn.”
To the coming week? “I’d definitely like to win a bunch sprint. I’d like to be aggressive the other days and hopefully get some sort of a jersey as well. Obviously I’d love the yellow jersey as well but I have to be realistic.”
- Check out the Examiner Sports Desk blog throughout the week where Ryan Sherlock, Team Sportactive, will keep readers updated.
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