Kiwi veterans full of praise for Bennett’s Tour efforts
Andrew Alderson
A pair of New Zealand Tour de France veterans have lauded George Bennett’s performance in this year’s event, and sympathised with the Team Lotto NLJumbo rider’s decision to withdraw due to illness on stage 16.
Tino Tabak competed in Le Tour four times. His 18th place in 1972 remains the best finish of the 15 New Zealanders to contest the event since Harry Watson’s 1928 debut.
Steve Swart featured three times in cycling’s most famous race and was the Herald’s New Zealander of the Year in 2012 for his courage speaking out against former teammate Lance Armstrong’s systemic doping.
“I was similar to George in my first tour [1971],” Tabak said. “I was fifth or sixth on general classification at the time, but . . . got sick.
“On the [first] rest day, the media wanted to take photos of me on the beach. I did that, then decided to walk back to my hotel. I got an ice cream on the way, and three or four hours later I was crook. It was an absolute fever, you name it.
“I ended up getting to the top of the Puy de Dome [on stage eight] but then had to go home.”
Swart pulled out at a similar point to Bennett on his maiden tour in 1987.
“I can sympathise with him. When the tank’s empty and there’s nobody home, there’s nothing you can do.
“George hasn’t just been a part of this tour, he’s been contributing in the top echelon. To have a Kiwi in the top 10 as a contender is a breakthrough on its own merit, even though he can’t see it all the way to Paris. Who knows? Next year, he might come back stronger.”
Tabak said the memory of exiting the tour prematurely can gnaw away.
“It wasn’t until I got home that I started to realise I probably missed out on a good placing.
“George is capable of doing something big. A lot of pro riders talk the business. I call them ‘gunners’ — going to do this, going to do that — but he doesn’t say too much and just goes out and does his thing. I’ve got a lot of respect for that. “What he’s done is pretty amazing.” Bennett sat in 12th before his exit. A fever left him with little energy to complete the 165km stage from Le Puyen-Velay to Romans-sur-Isere.
“I’m absolutely devastated,” he said. “There’s no worse feeling for a cyclist than leaving a bike race — but leaving the Tour is the worst.”
Bennett’s maiden appearance in Le Tour came last year when he finished 53rd. Before this edition, he had ridden five grand tours across France, Spain and Italy.
In yesterday’s action, race leader Chris Froome made sure there was one less rival to watch closely.
By sticking to Romain Bardet, despite the French rider’s efforts to distance him on the race’s highest peak, Froome took a big step towards a fourth Tour victory.
Italian Fabio Aru, on the other hand, fell behind in the thinning air of the mighty Col du Galibier, one of the Tour’s most fearsome Alpine climbs.
The Italian repeatedly worked his way back to Froome’s group of top contenders but a last burst of speed from Bardet towards the top of the mountain pass, which rises 2642m in altitude, proved decisive as they dropped Aru and attacked the highspeed descent to prevent Aru from catching them.
The bill, at the end, was costly for Aru. Having started the stage in second place, 18 seconds behind Froome, he slipped to fourth — 53s behind.
Colombian Rigoberto Uran stayed with Froome and jumped from fourth to second overall. Bardet is still third. And they look like filling the podium in Paris.