Bennett rejoins the bunch again

George Bennett’s gone from putting his feet up to putting the foot down.

That’s not to say he’s been in holiday mode for the early part of 2018. No, Bennett extended his summer in New Zealand so he could knuckle down and train in the comfort of his hometown, Nelson.

He said he felt guilty in a way, because trips home usually only occur during his off-season break, providing him with ample time to catch up with friends.

But even ducking down to the local bike shop for a yarn can sap energy, so Bennett went into hibernation after most training sessions to keep himself fresh and avoid another scenario like last year’s, where illness and fatigue curtailed his season.

‘‘It is a bit weird being here now at this time of the year,’’ said Bennett, prior to departing for Europe last week. ‘‘I’ve fully turned on the focus now and I almost feel guilty being here because I should be making the most of seeing people but I’m into the stage of the year where I’m doing massive sessions and just getting home and putting my feet up so I can do it again the next day.

‘‘That is opposed to what I’d usually do in New Zealand, where I’m far more relaxed and it’s the buildup phase, so you can catch up with people after training.’’

Bennett clocked up massive kms while in Nelson. He said that, before putting his feet up at the end of the day, there were even a few occasions where he would finish a training ride by swinging by one of the club races hosted by the Tasman Wheelers.

He said the up-and-coming riders are always eager to test themselves against a World Tour star, so it was hard work, especially with heavy legs.

‘‘I was hoping they’d go easy on me but they see it as a good opportunity to put the knife in,’’ he said.

‘‘I did one a couple of weeks ago where I did 200km in the morning and then went to the club race. I just got absolutely put to the sword by two young kids. And the same again last Saturday with a big day, heavy legs and I go up there and get smashed.

‘‘I end up rolling home a bit beaten up but it’s actually awesome because it’s one of those environments where you don’t have to worry about performing, you really can just lay it out in the morning and still lift for race in the afternoon, and if you blow up halfway through it doesn’t matter.’’

Although his goals are much bigger this year, targeting general classification honours at the Giro d’italia and Vuelta a Espana, as well as a top-10 finish at the Road World Championships, Bennett said he had not made any significant changes to his approach as he geared up for his eighth year as a pro.

‘‘I guess I’m more confident and more decisive in terms of having time off, and when I train, I’m training really, really hard.’’

Bennett received a rude welcome in his first race back in Europe, on the gravel at Stade Bianche last weekend. Wearing long sleeves and gloves to combat the cold, Bennett crossed the line 13min 50sec behind winner Tiesj Benoot. He was covered in mud from head to toe.

He now turns his attention to two week-long tours, Tirreno-adriatico and Volta a Catalunya, with the first of those kicking off this week.

"It's pretty much following a good recipe that has worked for me in the past and trying to replicate that."

George Bennett