Bennett makes his move to join elite
Kiwi cyclist George Bennett has joined a prestigious group of New Zealand athletes with his brilliant performance at the Tour of California.
Even if disaster strikes on the final stage this morning (NZ time), the 27-year-old from Nelson has already shown he has the talent to be ranked alongside Steven Adams and Lydia Ko in being one of the best in a truly global sport.
Having rode superbly in the queen stage to Mount Baldy on Friday, he then shocked even himself in the time trial yesterday to take hold of the Tour’s yellow jersey.
The final stage from Mountain High to Pasadena, which starts at 5.50am and is expected to finish at 8.42am this morning, has a couple of category-two climbs, which shouldn’t be too taxing for Bennett, who started the day with a 35-second lead over Poland’s Rafal Majka.
‘‘I’m the most surprised guy that watched the time trial or who was part of the event today,’’ Bennett said yesterday.
‘‘I never thought I would be here. When I looked at the profile of the time trial course it was fast and furious. You just needed a lot of power today and that’s not what I have.
‘‘I don’t know where it came from. I think I just went out there – are you familiar with the expression twisting a nut ... that’s all I can think of about my performance.
‘‘It gives me a lot of hope for the future and a lot of optimism and a lot of confidence.’’
Winning the Tour of California would be the greatest achievement by a New Zealander in road racing.
He showed he was capable of winning a world tour stage race with a top 10 finish at last year’s Vuelta a Espana, becoming the first New Zealand rider to achieve such a high placing in a grand tour.
In this year’s Tour de France he’ll revert to the role of being a super domestique for the Dutch Lotto NL Jumbo team’s leader, Steven Kruijswijk.