Bennett resets targets after impressive Tour
George Bennett hopes his new deal with Lotto NL-Jumbo will eventually result in him leading the team at a grand tour.
The 26-year-old from Nelson completed an impressive maiden Tour de France last weekend and towards the end of the three-week race signed a new contract to remain with the Dutch team through to the end of of 2018.
LottoNL-Jumbo were delighted with Bennett’s performance at the Tour, where he was able to launch a number of attacks in the high mountains.
Although it didn’t result in any stage wins, it gave the best evidence yet that Bennett can ride for general classification in stage races.
‘‘Not at the Tour de France, especially with Robert Gesink resigning, but the GC is something that really interests me and is a big dream of mine,’’ Bennett said.
‘‘I’m definitely expecting opportunities in races like the Tour Down Under, the Tour of California and races like that.
‘‘Eventually I want to ride for GC in a grand tour too, not starting with the Tour de France, it might be the Giro d’Italia or Vuelta a Espana, but I definitely know I can race well over three weeks.’’
Leading a team at a grand tour will mean Bennett’s team-mates sacrificing themselves for him every day, making sure he’s in the right position in the peloton and delivering him drink bottles during the stages. Bennett feels the last week of this year’s Tour de France, where there were three stages in the Alps, showed he can last for the full three weeks of a grand tour, which is something some top riders struggle to do.
‘‘There are a lot of guys that say they can’t do three-week races,’’ Bennett said. ‘‘Like [American rider for BMC] Tejay Van Garderen, he was up to second in the Tour a few years ago and then last few days just falls off and that was the same again this year (he finished 29th).
‘‘The last week becomes a lot about mental strength, you’ve been racing for two weeks already and you’re absolutely flogged, but you have to get yourself up to race again, so you have to keep that mental strength.’’
Bennett finished 53rd on general classification on the Tour, but wasn’t focused on finishing high up, purposely losing time in the first week, to increase his chances of being able to escape in a breakaway.
For every professional road cyclist, their first goal is to ride the Tour de France and their second is to finish it. Having now achieved this, Bennett has mixed feelings about the Tour.
‘‘I’ve been thinking about that for a bit,’’ he said. ‘‘It is really special moment and it’s been a big step in my career, but at the same time, I left the Tour feeling like I ran out of time. The dream for me isn’t just to ride the Tour, it’s to win on the Tour.’’