Cycling

Sam Bennett suffers bad luck on stage two of Paris-Nice

Irish star looked well placed to mount challenge before having to break hard to avoid roundabout

Sam Bennett (second from left) and race leader Tim Merlier talk on the start line ahead of second stage of the 81st edition of the Paris-Nice race from Bazainville to Fontainebleau. Photograph: David Pintens/Belga Mag/AFP via Getty Images
Sam Bennett (second from left) and race leader Tim Merlier talk on the start line ahead of second stage of the 81st edition of the Paris-Nice race from Bazainville to Fontainebleau. Photograph: David Pintens/Belga Mag/AFP via Getty Images
Shane Stokes
Mon Mar 06 2023 - 17:38

Aiming to improve on his runner-up slot on Sunday, Sam Bennett instead endured bad luck on Monday’s second stage of Paris-Nice, with a last kilometre mishap costing him the chance to go for the win.

Bennett had been on Bora-hansgrohe team-mate Danny Van Poppel’s wheel heading into the final two kilometres, the duo threading their way through tight clusters of riders to try to get closer to the front and into position.

They avoided a crash which brought down several riders but while they seemed well placed inside the final kilometre, Bennett then was squeezed between two riders on a roundabout and had to jam on, losing the wheel of lead-out man Van Poppel.

The win went to former world champion Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo), who Bennett had beaten for second place on Sunday. Olaf Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) was second past the finish line in Fontainebleau, while Bennett didn’t contest the sprint and rolled across the line a disappointed 20th.

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“The team was amazing today, we really rode as a unit,” he said. “Unfortunately I lost the wheel at the final roundabout and was just too far back from there on.”

Speaking prior to the stage, Bennett said that he is still some way off top form this season. “I still have a lot of work to do to get my sprint back. I am still missing two to three hundred watts. When I get a bit of time I will be able to work on that, and it will make a big difference in the finals.”

Given that he has taken one victory and nine other top-eight finishes already this year, his belief that substantial improvement can yet be made will concern his rivals.

Paris-Nice continues with a team time-trial on Tuesday. Bennett’s next opportunity to chase a stage win will likely come on Thursday’s stage to Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux.

Shane Stokes

Shane Stokes

Shane Stokes is a contributor to The Irish Times writing about cycling