Bennett’s lucky escape in crash

George Bennett was not thinking about the Giro d’italia, when he collided with a car on the eve of his final warm-up race, the Tour of the Alps.

The Giro, the first grand tour on the cycling calendar and one of the New Zealander’s three major targets, has been at the forefront of his mind for the past six months.

But as he skidded over the roof of a car, after being struck while doing a recon on the stage 16 time trial, less than 24 hours before the Tour of the Alps started in Italy on Monday, Bennett was only thinking about his health.

‘‘It was a very lucky escape, very lucky considering what could have been,’’ he said.

‘‘I didn’t even get a finger on the brake. I just went full whack into the side. If it had been a bigger car and I hadn’t been able to go over the top of him I would’ve been completely stuffed. It was a pretty small car and it had roof racks on. I managed to get my body over but my legs caught the roof racks and pulled them straight off.

‘‘When I was first on the ground I was doing the old wiggle the toes.

"If it had been a bigger car and I hadn't been able to go over the top of him I would've been completely stuffed." George Bennett

I wasn’t thinking about the Giro, I was just thinking that I’m just generally happy to be fine. I then moved up the list and thought maybe I can still do the Giro and by the time I got out of hospital we said I should still start today.’’

Twelve months ago Michele Scarponi was killed on a training ride, following his opening stage victory at the Tour of the Alps. Pello Bilbao, the first rider across the finish line yesterday, dedicated the win to his fallen team-mate.

‘‘Throughout the whole year, he’s always on our mind,’’ Bilbao said. ‘‘For me, it’s an honour to be here in this maglia [jersey] in Italy, his country. Of course, this victory is for him and his family. He’s been an important inspiration for our team and that’s why it is the most special victory.’’

Bennett finished among a group of six riders, including Team Sky’s Chris Froome, that finished 10 seconds behind Bilbao on the 134.6km stage from Arco to Folgaria.

He said the close call really hit home, especially during the anniversary of Scarponi’s death and following the recent death of his friend, Australian rider Jason Lowndes.

‘‘I knew Scarponi, I did training camps and things when he was there, but Lowndsy was a friend of mine. I’d go to dinner with him in Girona. You always know the risk riding a bike but it’s just another eye opener.’’

It’s the second time in 12 months that Bennett has been hit by a car in the lead-up to a major race. Last year he ended up on the bonnet of a car, with his helmet broken into pieces, after the driver turned straight in front of him. That particular incident occurred during his preparations for the Tour de France.

This year’s Tour of the Alps, which features Tour de France champion Froome and Fabio Aru, who finished fifth, starts in Italy and finishes in Austria. It is a climber’s paradise with a total of 13,100m of elevation across the five days.

The final stage takes place in the city of Innsbruck and covers much of the same ground that will be used for the UCI road world championships later this year – providing Bennett an early chance to test himself on the course.

Bennett has been in strong form this year, registering back-to-back top-10 finishes at World Tour events Tirreno-adriatico and Volta a Catalunya. He also finished 11th at the Tour Down Under.

But the big focus is the Giro d’italia, and the Tour of the Alps will be his final warm-up before that begins on May 4.