Tour de France battle comes to premature end for brave Sam Bennett

Sam Bennett’s Tour de France came to an end on the 17th stage of the race yesterday when he was forced to abandon.

The 24 year-old Carrick-on-Suir sprinter was making his debut in the three-week Grand Tour and came into it in less than ideal form having missed a month of competition beforehand due to a bout of sickness.

“It was never going to be an easy task, even if I was at full health,” he said afterwards.