Bennett’s bold move rocks Giro
he even had time for a casual look over his shoulder before punching the air and crossing the line into the embrace of his fiancée, Tara Fogarty. ‘It was a difficult finish and I felt that I had to commit early — I couldn’t let it slip away from me like I did yesterday. I just committed!’ said the grinning 27-year-old from Carrick-on-Suir. ‘I have a bit of confidence and then I saw others looking at each other so I thought I’d slip away. ‘I thought it would be easier going from the front rather than making up ground. ‘I think I caught some guys by surprise, so it worked to my advantage.’ Bennett’s bold move was not unlike that of Stephen Roche when he won the World Championships in Vilach in 1987 with a late heroic dash. His performances are reviving echoes of the great Irish cycling days of the 1980s and early 1990s when Kelly and Roche were feared in all races. Kelly, who is commentating for Eurosport, stood up and celebrated Bennett’s second win in six days — the former world number one holds the record for Irish stage wins in a Grand Tour, with five in the 1980 Vuelta. ‘What a sprint by Bennett. We could see on the climb he was in good shape. He had to go early and he rode away from everyone,’ said Kelly. Kelly is also the last Irish rider to win the points classification in a Grand Tour — he won eight in his career, four apiece in the Vuelta and the Tour de France. And Bennett could yet join him on that illustrious board of honour as he remains second by 22 points to Italian Elia Viviani, who dominated the opening week of the Giro and was yesterday denied a hat-trick on the flat after sprint wins in Tel Aviv and Eilat. Today’s 13th stage from Ferrara to Nervesa della Bataglia near Treviso offers another chance for Bennett’s sprinting prowess and the opportunity to cut the gap on Viviani, who was blown out the back yesterday. ‘I’ll just focus on stage wins,’ Bennett continued. ‘It (points competition) is getting closer, and if in the last week it’s really close, maybe I’ll look at it.’ Bennett is clearly riding on top form as he was able to stay with the general classification riders on the day’s major climb, unlike Nicolas Roche and Ryan Mullen who each lost almost nine minutes. In the overall standings, Simon Yates leads 2017 winner Tom Domoulin by 47 seconds. Roche, whose father won two stages of the 1987 Giro, is the highest placed Irish rider in 59th place. Bennett is 95th and Mullen 158th of the 167 survivors.
SUPER sprinter Sam Bennett is closing in on the points jersey in the Giro d’Italia after a stunning second stage win yesterday. Bennett became the first Irish cyclist to win multiple stages on a Grand Tour since his mentor Sean Kelly in the Vuelta 30 years ago. Defying heavy rain and lightning flashes which lit up the roads on the 12th stage from Osimo to Imola, Bennett bolted clear inside the famous motor circuit to stun his rivals who were braced for a bunch sprint. Bennett unleashed a stunning long-range effort as he tracked down late attackers Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida) and Carlos Betancur (Movistar) in the final 400 metres, before surging past. As the Bora Hansgrohe rider sped clear,