Road rage against cyclists in NZ appals Kiwi champ
George Bennett clinched a major cycling title in the US yesterday – here are 11 facts about the little-known Kiwi
Kiwi cyclist George Bennett has taken time out from his finest hour — victory in the Tour of California — to lament the strained relationship between riders and motorists on New Zealand roads.
Bennett, 27, became the first NZ cyclist to claim a tour on the world circuit, snatching the lead in Saturday’s 24km time trial and holding it over the 125km final leg in Pasadena yesterday.
But he admitted to Newstalk ZB’s Tony Veitch that he feared for his safety and that of other cyclists training in a hostile environment, especially back home.
“People always ask, how is cycling in New Zealand and there are two sides to the story,” he said, soon after his win. “On one side, there’s this great sport that’s developing and kids are getting into it, and it’s saving the environment and saving people money . . . everything like that.
“So it’s this really positive thing, but you have this driver rage, where everyone’s like ‘get off the road’ and there’s no place for cycling on the road, and it’s super dangerous.”
Bennett told Veitch he knew of three cyclists who had died in accidents over the past month. Those fatalities weren’t all on New Zealand roads — one was respected Italian professional Michele Scarponi, who was hit by a van while training in Italy.
Bennett and Scarponi had battled for a top-10 finish in last year’s Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain), with Bennett eventually prevailing.
“I think about it a lot, I think about it at training,” he told Veitch. “I’ve got my mum on a road bike and I think about it when she’s riding. I think the attitude needs to change in New Zealand, because people can’t believe it. When they come to New Zealand or [Australia], they say this is such a nice place — this is my European team-mates — but what the hell’s wrong with the drivers.
“Everyone’s swerving at them and they just can’t believe this is how people are treated on the road. In Europe, it’s completely different.”
But Bennett conceded the fault did not lie solely with motorists and cyclists needed to take a close look at their own behaviour.
“I also understand the flipside and that sometimes cyclists can be their own worst enemies. You get crazy bunch rides, especially around Auckland, where they’re riding five across the road.
“I really detest that, because that makes it dangerous for me, when I’m out riding.
“New Zealand definitely has a long way to go on that front and I can also appreciate that cyclists need to think about how they are going about things, but the general attitude of ‘get off the road’ is really bad.”
George Bennett has become an instant hit, as the first Kiwi cyclist to win a major tour event yesterday. So after his brilliant Tour of California victory, what makes this young man tick? The 27-year-old Bennett hails from Nelson, and took up cycling to get fit for rugby. He bypassed the traditional track-to-road route, starting on mountain bikes, including going to the 2008 world champs in Italy.
It goes without saying that he has an amazing power-to-weight ratio — the 1.8m rider weighs only 58kg. He’s unusual for a New Zealander, being an outstanding climber. With most Kiwi road cyclists coming from the track programme, they are built too big to win big on the road. Bennett already had some serious form on board, although nothing to match his California win with Team LottoNL-Jumbo from Holland. He finished 33rd at last year’s Rio Olympics, a brutal race in hot conditions where 79 riders failed to finish.
More significantly, he is the first Kiwi to have a top 10 finish in a Grand Tour race, placing 10th in the Vuelta a Espana last year (the other Grand Tours are the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia). Bennett grabbed his chance after the lead rider in his team, Steven Kruijswijk, crashed out of the hilly race. Bennett said the highlight of 2016 was reaching the Tour de France finish line for the first time. “You get the chills,” he told Stuff. All Blacks great Conrad Smith, who plays in France, sought Bennett out during the race and hopped in the team support car for a while.
Bennett won fame during the tour, finishing ninth on a stage despite bowling a fan on a tight turn. Bennett is a miracle in more ways than this victory. He suffered sapping glandular fever last year and feared it could end his career, as it has with other riders such as Norwegian star Thor Hushovd. Bennett said taking the plunge to make a career in Europe as an elite professional rider in his late teens was “the toughest thing I’ve ever done in my life”. It had been “way easier” to ask his girlfriend Caitlin Feilder out. Bennett describes himself as an antitheist — in other words, he is not a big fan of organised religion. Girona in Spain is his home away from home. Close to Barcelona, it is a cycling stronghold and has been home to other top New Zealanders such as Sam Bewley and Greg Henderson over the years. Kiwi cycling pundits believe that his breakthrough will lead to more of the same. And the man himself agrees.
“I look at my local club and the young guys coming up, and here’s the first New Zealander to win a world tour stage race, which is pretty exciting, but I definitely won’t be the last one, that’s for sure.” The latest New Zealand Road Cyclist revealed a secret to Bennett’s success, with editor John McKenzie writing: “Having a good balance is so important; making time for family and friends is essential.
“George Bennett is a good example of someone who works hard to have that balance sorted.
“His ability to fit well into teams and his recent results speak for themselves.” There are various views on exactly where his win lies in New Zealand cycling history.
Kiwi great Stephen Swart, who came close to winning the equivalent event in the early 1990s, described the win as fantastic.
“He has his ambitions and is not there to make up the numbers,” said Swart. “While [this race] doesn’t necessarily get all the top riders, it is no slug either. You have to be in the top 20 in the world to even think about winning it. We will see in the next few months where he might take it.”