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Sam Bennett (cyclist)

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For other people with the same name, see Sam Bennett (disambiguation).

Sam Bennett
Bennett in 2019.
Personal information
Full nameSam Bennett
Nickname'Sammy B'
Born (1990-10-16) 16 October 1990 (age 34)
Wervik, Flanders, Belgium
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Weight73 kg (161 lb; 11 st 7 lb)[1]
Team information
Current teamDecathlon–AG2R La Mondiale
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeSprinter
Amateur teams
2007–2010Vélo-Club La Pomme Marseille
2009Carrick Wheelers Dan Morrissey
2010Française des Jeux (stagiaire)
Professional teams
2011–2013An Post–Sean Kelly
2014–2019NetApp–Endura
2020–2021Deceuninck–Quick-Step[2][3]
2022–2023Bora–Hansgrohe
2024–Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale
Major wins
Grand Tours
Tour de France
Points classification (2020)
2 individual stages (2020)
Giro d'Italia
3 individual stages (2018)
Vuelta a España
5 individual stages (2019, 2020, 2022)

Stage races

Four Days of Dunkirk (2024)

One-day races and Classics

National Road Race Championships (2019)
Classic Brugge–De Panne (2021)
Eschborn–Frankfurt (2022)
Münsterland Giro (2017)
Clásica de Almería (2014)

Sam Bennett (born 16 October 1990) is an Irish professional cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale. He is a road sprinter who turned professional in 2011. He has won ten Grand Tour stages: three stages in the 2018 Giro d'Italia, two stages at the 2019 Vuelta a España, two stages at the 2020 Tour de France, where he also won the Points classification, one stage at the 2020 Vuelta a España, and two stages at the 2022 Vuelta a España.

Early life

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Bennett was born in 1990 in Wervik, Flanders, Belgium, where his father Michael came in 1989 to play professional football for local club Eendracht Wervik. He moved with his parents to their native Ireland at the age of four, where he spent most of his early years growing up in Carrick-on-Suir, the hometown of fellow cyclist Sean Kelly.[4][5]

Career

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Early career

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Bennett was head-hunted by Vélo-Club La Pomme Marseille at 17, and joined them in the south of France, after completing his first year of third-level education at Waterford Institute of Technology (where he was embarking on an Honours Degree in Health and Exercise Studies). In 2009, Bennett rode, for the first time, the Rás Tailteann with the Carrick Wheelers Dan Morrissey squad. During the 2010 season, Bennett won the under-23 road race at the Irish National Cycling Championships in Sligo, aged 19.

An Post–Sean Kelly (2011–13)

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In 2011, Bennett left France and joined Sean Kelly's An Post–Sean Kelly squad, under the tutelage of manager Kurt Bogaerts. He again won the under-23 road race at the Irish National Cycling Championships and also the Grote Prijs Stad Geel, a UCI 1.2 ranked one day race.

The following year he finished tenth in the under-23 road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Limburg, and seventh in the under-23 road race at the UEC European Road Championships.

In 2013 An Post–Chain Reaction moved up to Professional Continental level; Bennett won two stages in the Rás Tailteann – stage 3 into Listowel and stage 8 in Skerries – and stage 5 of the Tour of Britain, in which he also took two second places.

NetApp–Endura (2014–19)

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2014 season

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Having joined NetApp–Endura in 2014, Bennett took his first professional win at the UCI 1.1 ranked Clásica de Almería and won twice in Germany: the Rund um Köln and stage 5 of the 1.HC ranked Bayern–Rundfahrt into Nuremberg.

2015 season

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The 2015 season began for Bennett at the Tour of Qatar, where he won the final stage, finishing in the Doha Corniche. Bennett won the first and third stages at the Bayern–Rundfahrt, allowing him to wear his first professional points classification jersey. Bennett was involved in a mass crash at the end of the Scheldeprijs.[6] Bennett began the Tour de France sick, having been diagnosed with a hernia on his diaphragm. He completed 16 stages of the race before abandoning. He returned to racing at the Arctic Race of Norway and won stage 2 into Setermoen; he finished 2nd in the points classification to Alexander Kristoff. Bennett took his final win of the season at Paris–Bourges in a sprint finish.

2016 season

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In March 2016, Bennett won the first stage of the Critérium International in Corsica. Bennett's Tour de France effort was hindered by a crash that resulted in broken fingers on his right hand, but he continued to finish the race last in the general classification – the lanterne rouge – and finishing in the top 10 on the final stage in Paris. After recovering from his Tour injuries, Bennett went on to take a stage win at the Giro di Toscana, and won the points classification. The following month, he won his second consecutive Paris–Bourges.

2017 season

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On 7 March 2017, Bennett won Stage 3 of the Paris–Nice.[7] Bennett went on to win 2 stages of the Tour of Slovenia in June, and won the points classification. At the Czech Cycling Tour, he again won two stages and the points classification jersey. In September, he won the Münsterland Giro in a photo-finish. In October, Bennett won four out of the six stages of the 2017 Tour of Turkey.[8]

2018 & 2019 seasons

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Bennett started the season in the Tour Down Under, despite having an illness.[9] He also started in the Paris–Nice, but had to abandon midway through stage 3 due to sickness.[10] At the Volta a Catalunya, Bennett finished second on stage two. On 11 May 2018, he achieved his maiden Grand Tour stage victory, winning the seventh stage of the Giro d'Italia in Praia a Mare, in a sprint finish. He then added further stage victories on stage 12, finishing at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari motor racing circuit in Imola,[11] and the final stage into Rome.[12]

Bennett at the 2019 Paris–Nice, where he won two stages.

In August 2019, he was named in the startlist for the Vuelta a España, his first time competing in the Vuelta a España.[13] On 26 August, he won Stage 3.[14] He also won Stage 14, and finished in second place on four other stages; he finished third in the points classification behind overall contenders Primož Roglič and Tadej Pogačar.

Deceuninck–Quick-Step (2020–21)

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In December 2019, Bennett signed a two-year contract with Belgian team Deceuninck–Quick-Step.[15]

2020 season

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He was named in the team to compete in the Tour de France and narrowly finished in second place in a sprint finish on stage 3.[16] On stage 5, Bennett finished in third place and took the green jersey, becoming the first Irish rider to lead one of the classifications in the Tour since Sean Kelly won the same jersey in 1989. On stage 10, Bennett won his first stage in a sprint finish and also regained the green jersey from Peter Sagan, its seven-time winner.[17][18] Bennett became the sixth Irish cyclist to win a stage at the Tour de France, after Shay Elliott, Kelly, Stephen Roche, Martin Earley and Dan Martin, and the second, after Elliott, to win a stage in every Grand Tour.[19][20] On 20 September, Bennett won his second stage of the Tour, becoming only the fifth cyclist to win the final stage of the Tour de France while wearing the green jersey, and the second Irish (and the second from the small town of Carrick-on-Suir[21]) cyclist to win the Green Jersey (after Kelly, who won it 4 times, in 1982, 1983, 1985, and 1989).[22][23][24]

He won Stage 4 of the Vuelta a España.[25][26] On stage 9, he crossed the line first but was relegated for a 'shove' in the final kilometre, with the stage win being awarded to Germany's Pascal Ackermann.[27] In the final stage, he again lost out to Ackermann when he was narrowly beaten into 2nd place in the sprint, thus failing by the width of a wheel-rim to achieve a win on the last-day stage of each Grand Tour, after final-day stage wins in the 2018 Giro d'Italia and the 2020 Tour de France.[28][29]

2021 season

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Bennett missed the 2021 Tour de France due to a knee injury.[30][31]

Bora–Hansgrohe

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In August 2021, Bennett was announced to be rejoining Bora–Hansgrohe on a two-year contract, along with his teammate Shane Archbold.[32]

2022 season

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Bennett was not part of the Bora–Hansgrohe team that took part in the Tour de France.[33]

In August Bennett won the second and third stages of the 2022 Vuelta a España in two sprint finishes. He became the second Irish rider to win at least 10 stages in Grand Tours after Sean Kelly.[34]

Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale (2024–present)

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In November 2023, Bennett signed with the Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale team for 2024.[35]

2024 season

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In May he won the Four Days of Dunkirk after winning four of the six stages of the race, it was the first general classification win of his professional career.[36]

Career achievements

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Major results

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2008
1st Points race, UEC European Junior Track Championships
1st Road race, National Junior Road Championships
1st Martin Donnelly Junior Tour[37]
2009
1st Alleins GP[38]
1st Stage 7 Rás Tailteann
5th Road race, National Under-23 Road Championships
2010
1st Road race, National Under-23 Road Championships
1st Stage 4 Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour
7th Grand Prix de Vougy
8th Dijon–Auxonne–Dijon
2011
National Road Championships
1st Under-23 road race
5th Road race
1st Grote Prijs Stad Geel
2012
3rd Ronde van Noord-Holland
7th Road race, UEC European Under-23 Road Championships
8th Grote Prijs Stad Zottegem
10th Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships
2013 (1 pro win)
1st Overall Suir Valley 3 Day
Rás Tailteann
1st Stages 3 & 8
1st Stage 5 Tour of Britain
4th Schaal Sels
4th Kernen Omloop Echt-Susteren
7th Dutch Food Valley Classic
10th Omloop van het Waasland
2014 (3)
1st Clásica de Almería
1st Rund um Köln
Bayern–Rundfahrt
1st Sprints classification
1st Stage 5
2nd ProRace Berlin
5th Scheldeprijs
6th RideLondon–Surrey Classic
2015 (5)
1st Paris–Bourges
Bayern–Rundfahrt
1st Stages 1 & 3
1st Stage 6 Tour of Qatar
1st Stage 2 Arctic Race of Norway
2nd Velothon Berlin
4th Trofeo Playa de Palma
10th Trofeo Santanyi-SesSalines-Campos
2016 (3)
1st Paris–Bourges
1st Stage 1 Critérium International
2nd Trofeo Felanitx-Ses Salines-Campos-Porreres
3rd Eschborn–Frankfurt – Rund um den Finanzplatz
4th Trofeo Playa de Palma
5th Overall Giro di Toscana
1st Points classification
1st Stage 2
7th Overall Tour of Qatar
8th Grand Prix de Fourmies
2017 (10)
1st Münsterland Giro
Tour of Turkey
1st Stages 1, 2, 3 & 5
Tour of Slovenia
1st Points classification
1st Stages 1 & 4
Czech Cycling Tour
1st Points classification
1st Stages 2 & 4
1st Stage 3 Paris–Nice
2nd Down Under Classic
8th London–Surrey Classic
10th Grand Prix of Aargau Canton
2018 (7)
1st Rund um Köln
Giro d'Italia
1st Stages 7, 12 & 21
Tour of Turkey
1st Points classification
1st Stages 2, 3 & 6
7th Eschborn–Frankfurt
2019 (13)
1st Road race, National Road Championships
BinckBank Tour
1st Points classification
1st Stages 1, 2 & 3
Tour of Turkey
1st Points classification
1st Stages 1 & 2
Vuelta a España
1st Stages 3 & 14
Held after Stages 4–6
Paris–Nice
1st Stages 3 & 6
1st Stage 3 Critérium du Dauphiné
1st Stage 7 UAE Tour
1st Stage 7 Vuelta a San Juan
2nd London–Surrey Classic
6th Road race, UEC European Road Championships
10th Rund um Köln
2020 (7)
1st Race Torquay
Tour de France
1st Points classification
1st Stages 10 & 21
1st Stage 4 Vuelta a España
1st Stage 1 Tour Down Under
1st Stage 3 Tour de Wallonie
1st Stage 4 Vuelta a Burgos
8th Scheldeprijs
2021 (7)
1st Classic Brugge–De Panne
Paris–Nice
1st Stages 1 & 5
UAE Tour
1st Stages 4 & 6
Volta ao Algarve
1st Points classification
1st Stages 1 & 3
2nd Scheldeprijs
2022 (3)
1st Eschborn–Frankfurt
Vuelta a España
1st Stages 2 & 3
Held after Stages 2–7
3rd Paris–Tours
5th Road race, UEC European Road Championships
5th Münsterland Giro
5th Rund um Köln
5th Ronde van Limburg
2023 (3)
Sibiu Cycling Tour
1st Points classification
1st Stage 1 & 4a
1st Stage 1 Vuelta a San Juan
3rd Road race, National Road Championships
2024 (5)
1st Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
1st Points classification
1st Stages 2, 3, 5 & 6
8th Overall Région Pays de la Loire Tour
9th Overall Tour de la Provence

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

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Grand Tour 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
A pink jersey Giro d'Italia — — 158 112 — — — — — —
A yellow jersey Tour de France DNF 174 — — — 138 — — — DNF
A red jersey Vuelta a España — — — — 134 137 — DNF — —

Classics results timeline

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Monument 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Milan–San Remo — 78 129 66 — 28 60 42 — DNF —
Tour of Flanders DNF — — — — — — — — — —
Paris–Roubaix 134 — OTL — — — NH — — — —
Liège–Bastogne–Liège Has not contested during his career
Giro di Lombardia
Classic 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne — 19 DNF 24 DNF — — — — — —
Brugge–De Panne Previously a stage race — — — 1 17 DNF —
Gent–Wevelgem 12 DNF — 17 — — DNF 55 106 DNF DNF
Scheldeprijs 5 DNF 12 — — — 8 2 13 — —
Eschborn–Frankfurt — NH 3 22 7 — NH — 1 69 DNF
Hamburg Cyclassics — 113 130 11 — — NH — DNF
Münsterland Giro — 11 — 1 11 — — — 5 —
Paris–Tours — 100 15 — — — — — 3 —
Legend
— Did not compete
DNF Did not finish
IP In progress
NH Not held

References

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  1. ^ a b "BORA – hansgrohe". Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  2. ^ Ryan, Barry (31 December 2019). "2020 Team Preview: Deceuninck-QuickStep". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Deceuninck - Quick-Step". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 1 January 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  4. ^ Tracey, Cian (8 October 2014). "I almost gave up on my pro cycling dream – Bennett". independent.ie. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  5. ^ Kelly, Cillian (28 January 2015). "Bennett aims to start with a bang at Qatar and Oman". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Scheldeprijs finale marred by mass crash".
  7. ^ "Ireland's Sam Bennett secures biggest win of his career in France". Irish Independent. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  8. ^ "2017 Tour of Turkey". Cycling News. 15 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Sam Bennett struck down with before Tour Down Under". Cyclingnews.com. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  10. ^ "Ireland's Sam Bennett abandons Paris-Nice on stage 3". 6 March 2018.
  11. ^ "'I just went for it' – Sam Bennett on becoming the first Irishman in 30 years to win two Grand Tour stages". The 42. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  12. ^ "Ireland's Sam Bennett wins final stage of Giro d'Italia in thrilling sprint finish". The 42. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  13. ^ "2019: 74th La Vuelta ciclista a España". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  14. ^ "Double Irish celebration at Vuelta as Sam Bennett wins Stage 3 while Nicolas Roche keeps leader's jersey". Irish Independent. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  15. ^ "Bennett describes QuickStep move as a 'dream come true'". The 42. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  16. ^ "Bennett agonisingly beaten on the line again as wait for Tour de France win goes on". The 42. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  17. ^ Benson, Daniel (3 September 2020). "Sean Kelly: Sam Bennett deserves Tour de France green jersey after hard times". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  18. ^ "Ireland's Sam Bennett wins Stage 10 to regain Tour de France green jersey". The 42. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Tour de France: Sam Bennett wins stage 10 as Primoz Roglic keeps yellow jersey". Guardian. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  20. ^ "Sam Bennett wins stage 10 of Tour de France". RTE Sport. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  21. ^ "Sean Kelly: Sam Bennett delivered on the potential he always had with Tour de France green jersey". RTE. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020. It's an incredible achievement for the town of Carrick-on-Suir, with a population of under 6,000 at the last census, to produce two green jersey winners some 31 years apart.
  22. ^ O'Riordan, Ian. "'I never thought I'd be good enough' – Sam Bennett clinches Tour de France green jersey". The Irish Times. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  23. ^ "Sam Bennett takes final stage and wins Ireland's 1st Tour de France green jersey in 31 years". The 42. 20 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  24. ^ "'It's amazing' – Bennett seals green jersey by sprinting to final stage victory". RTE Sport. 20 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  25. ^ Puddicombe, Stephen (23 October 2020). "Vuelta a España: Sam Bennett wins stage 4". CyclingNews. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  26. ^ "Super Sam Bennett makes it back-to-back Vuelta stage wins for the Irish". The 42. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  27. ^ Tom Owen (29 October 2020). "LA VUELTA 2020 – SAM BENNETT RELEGATED FROM STAGE WIN AFTER 'SHOVE' IN THE FINAL KILOMETRE". Eurosport. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  28. ^ Jonny Long (8 November 2020). "Pascal Ackermann pips Sam Bennett in stage 18 sprint as Roglič seals Vuelta a España". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  29. ^ "Vuelta a España – Stage 18 Highlights – Cycling – Eurosport". YouTube. 8 November 2020. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2020. Just a wheelrim involved between the pair of then, Sam Bennett not quite coming to get that hat-trick he'd been searching for of last day wins on all the Grand Tours.
  30. ^ "Sam Bennett ruled out of Tour de France with knee injury". RTE Sport. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  31. ^ "Sam Bennett's exit from Tour de France sparks tension in his team". Irish Times. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  32. ^ "Sam Bennett returns to Bora-Hansgrohe on two-year contract". VeloNews. Outside. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  33. ^ "Ireland's Sam Bennett misses out on Tour de France spot again". The 42. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  34. ^ "Sam Bennett clinches second successive victory at Vuelta a Espana". Irish Independent. 21 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  35. ^ "Sam Bennett and Victor Lafay sign for revamped Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team". Cyclingnews.com. 27 November 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  36. ^ "Sam Bennett wins final stage to seal overall victory in Four Days of Dunkirk". RTE Sport. 19 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  37. ^ "Bennett secures Junior Tour title". Irish Independent. 14 July 2008.
  38. ^ "BENNETT TAKES VICTORY IN FRANCE". Irish Cycling. 3 August 2009. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011.
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