Sean Kelly: Omission of Sam Bennett from Tour de France borne out of frustration

Deceuninck-QuickStep team manager Patrick Lefevre questioned how seriously injured Bennett was while also commenting on his apparent psychological fragility

Sam Bennett, the double stage winner and green jersey winner from last year’s race, has enjoyed a brilliant season to date. (Christophe Petit-Tesson/Pool via AP)

Irish cycling legend Sean Kelly believes Sam Bennett’s omission from the Deceuninck-QuickStep team for this year’s Tour de France was borne out of frustration at the latter’s decision to leave the team.

The double stage winner and green jersey winner from last year’s race has enjoyed a brilliant season to date and was a shoo-in to start this year’s contest which gets underway in Brest on Saturday.