Super Sam scorches to stage glory
SAM BENNETT sprinted to another impressive grand tour stage victory on stage four of La Vuelta a Espana in Ejea de los Caballeros yesterday.
Less than a month after leading home the final stage of the Tour de France on the Champs-Elysees, Bennett was launched by his Deceuninck-Quickstep team to pip rival Jasper Philipsen (UAE Emirates) over the line.
His third Vuelta stage win comes hot on the heels of Dan Martin’s success Thursday’s stage.
Bennett said: ‘We said we needed to come together at one point and the team did the job perfectly – they all came together when they needed to.
‘I went for the outside and Jasper Philipsen came up the inside and got such a jump I actually didn’t think I’d be able to catch him.
‘But in the end I started getting more and more speed and I was still accelerating to the line.’
Jakub Marecko (CCC) and Pascal Ackermann ( Bora- Hansgrohe) took second and third places respectively on a day which did not impact the top of the general classification, with Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo Visma) maintaining his five- second lead over Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation).
Britain’s Harry Tanfield (AG2R La Mondiale) had featured prominently in a four-man break which went clear early in the stage and held its advantage until around 15km to go, when they were finally swallowed up by the bunch.
It set the scene for the first sprint finish of this year’s race, with the BoraHansgrohe team first to assert themselves before Bennett’s t eam- mates stepped up to secure the Irishman another stage win.
Meanwhile, Josef Cerny won a shortened stage 19 in the Giro d’Italia for his f i rst Grand Tour stage victory.
The CCC rider attacked from the main break with 21 kilometres to go and held off a late chase from Victor Campenaerts to secure victory.
‘It’s incredible, I have no words,’ Cerny said speaking just after the stage finish.
‘ Today my dream has come true, I am very happy. I dedicate this success to my team and my family! I still cannot believe it, I cannot describe how I’m feeling right now.’
In the race for the Maglia Rosa, it was retained by Wilco Kelderman from team Sunweb who leads the general classification over team-mate Jai Hindley.
The stage was shortened, with the riders covering less than half the planned 258km distance after concerns were raised over heavy rain which could risk riders’ health.
The Professional Cyclists Association (CPA) wanted the stage to start 124km from the finish in Asti, with the riders having taken team buses to the revised starting point.
However, Giro race director Mauro Vegni said: ‘I’m very upset about the way this has happened. It isn’t right.
‘I think there are going to be some words with lawyers here. I don’t feel it’s respectful to the race, to the people who want to watch the race. There’s no real respect. We think there (will) be consequences of the actions of the riders today.
‘The stage was announced a year ago. We knew it was going to be happening in October. A rainy day in October is quite a usual thing. 13 degrees is not cold. I don’t think there are excuses.’
Elsewhere, a Team Sky doctor believed new protocols drawn up by Dr Richard Freeman were unethical and feared they could lead to a breach of doping rules, a medical tribunal heard.
Freeman, 60, is the subject of a fit- to- practise hearing at which he last week claimed Dr David Hulse had left the team in 2010 due to a ‘rider rebellion’ triggered by a poor season and the death of a member of staff at a race.
Dr Hulse was moved enough to hand over potentially devastating documents to the General Medical Council (GMC), who brought the case against Freeman.
The submissions included an explosive email Hulse sent after receiving protocols on intravenous recovery and hydration by Team Sky. The World Anti- Doping Agency has robust rules on the use of IV.