Bennett pulls out of Le Tour
Kiwi cyclist George Bennett has been forced out of the Tour de France due to illness.
Bennett, who had been lying 12th in the general classification, pulled out during the 16th stage yesterday.
Poised to finish as the bestplaced New Zealander on general classification in the history of the Tour, Bennett was simply unable to stay on the pace.
‘‘I felt weak, I am empty,’’ Bennet said.
‘‘I was in pain in places I didn’t even know could hurt. It should have been an easy day to survive for me, but that was not the case. I felt like I sprinted all the way, but I almost went backwards.’’
Bennett posted on his Facebook page that he was ‘‘gutted beyond belief’’ to leave the Tour.
‘‘I don’t think my vocabulary extensive enough to describe it really. I’m absolutely devastated,’’ he told Radio Sport.
‘‘The writing was almost on the wall yesterday. I was hoping for a miracle, hoping I could just get through today and then take it from there and try and pull something out in the Alps.
‘‘If you saw me last night you’d be surprised I’m even here today. It’s just the biggest shame in the world. Not a worse feeling for a cyclist to be honest, leaving any bike race - but leaving the Tour is just the worst.’’
Bennett said the illness had bothered him on recent stages and turned into a fever on the rest day, forcing him into bed.
‘‘Then on the rest day after lunch it just hit me. Spent the day in bed and then I couldn’t move and then serious fever. I couldn’t eat or drink. They made my dinner in a blender and I tried to get as much food in as I could. I woke up this morning and the fever had gone away.
‘‘We started the first climb and we hoped a few guys would roll off easy and I could survive but it didn’t work out like that. It turned into an absolute battle and I was on the wrong end of it,’’ Bennett said.
‘‘When you’re struggling to ride straight and your head is breaking out in cold sweats and you can’t hold the wheel of the biggest sprinter in the race and you’re going up a hill and you’re meant to be one of the best climbers and he’s dropping you - it’s time to pull the plug.’’
Meanwhile, Australian Michael Matthews accused German rival John Degenkolb of being a poor sport after his angry reaction to being beaten in a sprint for the line at the stage.
Sunweb rider Matthews won his second stage of the race after his team-mates set a scorching pace at the head of the peloton to take the sting out of the challenge of points leader Marcel Kittel.
In the sprint to the line he edged out Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) and Degenkolb (Trek-segafredo), who clashed with Matthews as the riders came to a stop, accusing him of veering towards him on the high-speed dash for the line.
‘‘He grabbed me by the neck. The officials saw that. I don’t know what they’re going to do about it,’’ Matthews said. ’’It was not very sportsmanlike.’’
Degenkolb gesticulated at Matthews as the pair crossed the line, appearing to indicate that he felt the Australian had pushed him dangerously close to the barriers.
Chris Froome, the defending champion, has an 18-second overall lead in the general classification over Fabio Aru, with Romain Bardet 23 seconds back in third place.