Bennett keen to seize opportunity in Giro

Cyclist George Bennett is returning to the scene of his best grand tour result, determined to make the most of a rare opportunity to lead JumboVisma by himself at one of the sport’s biggest races.

The 31-year-old climber has found leadership opportunities hard to come by on an increasingly starstudded roster headlined by last year’s Vuelta a Espana champion and Tour de France runner-up Primoz Roglic.

But after riding as a helper or sharing the duties with Roglic and Steven Kruijswijk at various grand tours over the past two years, Bennett has finally earned himself another chance to show what he can do on the general classification standings at the Giro d’Italia, which begins with a nine kilometre individual time trial in Turin tonight (NZT).

‘‘It’s a rare opportunity to lead this team, and on a team like this it doesn’t come around often. But it also doesn’t come around unless they believe you can do it as well.

‘‘It’s not like everybody gets a turn, they think that I can do it,’’ Bennett said.

It will be Bennett’s second crack at trying to win the pink jersey. He made his grand tour debut with Radio-Shack at the Giro in 2013 and finished in a career-best eighth place with Jumbo-Visma in 2018 when given the freedom to ride for an overall result.

But those opportunities to mount a serious challenge on the general classification have been scarce of late as the Dutch team has gone from strength-to-strength in the subsequent seasons, finishing inside the top-five in each of Bennett’s grand tour appearances since the Giro three years ago.

Kruijswijk finished fourth at the Vuelta in 2018 and third at the Tour in 2019, while Roglic won the Vuelta in 2019 and 2020 and finished second at the Tour last year as well.

Bennett believed he was capable of meeting the sky-high expectations set by the most dominant team in cycling at present. He said a top-five finish – which would be a first for New Zealand – was a ‘‘big goal’’ but a realistic one too.

The Nelson rider’s form is a bit of an unknown given he is coming off a heavy training block and pulled out of last month’s Volta a Catalunya with illness, but he said the lack of racing could have its benefits as he looked to pace himself throughout the three-week slog.

His toughest challengers for the pink jersey include 2019 Tour winner Egan Bernal (Team Ineos Grenadiers), recent Tour of the Alps champion Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) and 2015 podium getter Mikel Landa (Bahrain-McLaren).

‘‘Some guys say that if I do my best race I’ll be happy no matter the number, but I don’t think I’ll be happy if I do my best race and it’s not a good one,’’ he said.

‘‘Top-five would be good. That would be a really big goal for me. There’s probably a clear three guys; Simon Yates, Egan Bernal and maybe Mikel Landa. These guys have all won grand tours or been very close to winning them.

‘‘But then there’s 15 of us that in any race could be put in any order and no-one would be surprised, and I want to be the best of that group.

‘‘It’s a big ask but I think you have to aim high. You can’t be scared to make [ambitious goals] because if the team hands you the ropes you need to go there with the ambition of leaving with everyone being happy.’’

Donning the New Zealand jersey he won at the national championships in February, Bennett will be easier to spot during the gruelling 21-stage race, which features tough gravel sections, the brutal Monte Zoncolan climb and two individual time trials.

With more than 3000m of climbing, he said the course was about as tough as it gets in professional cycling but one he felt played to strengths.

‘‘Physically it’s a lot harder than the other grand tours. That’s pretty well accepted amongst the peloton. You have really unpredictable weather; you get snow and you also get 35 degrees.

‘‘You have a really hard course, you have more mountains than any others and really crazy stages.

‘‘I think it’s the hardest Giro course that I’ve ever been a part of and potentially the hardest Giro in the last few years. I think it’s actually a really good course for me but it depends if you’re trying to attack or trying to defend.

‘‘If you’re in a good position but you completely run out of steam and you’ve got to get through a couple more Giro stages then it’s game over. You need to be good for three weeks.’’

Bennett will be joined on the start line by Kiwi time trial specialist Patrick Bevin (Israel Start-Up Nation). The Giro debutant will be supporting Irishman’s Dan Martin’s GC bid but is also a good chance for individual success in the two TTs.

‘‘It’s a rare opportunity to lead this team . . . it also doesn’t come around unless they believe you can do it.’’

George Bennett, left