Sam Bennett had a superb career breakthrough on Sunday, winning the final stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk and sealing the first general classification win of his professional career.
Bennett becomes the second-ever Irishman to win the French event, joining 1990 victor Stephen Roche in the hall of fame.
He showed stunning form in the race, winning four out of the six stages, finishing second and third on the other two and dominating both the general classification and the points competition.
Sunday's flat final stage took the riders to Dunkirk and Bennett’s Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale squad rode to control the time gap to the day’s breakaway. Once those riders were recaptured, his team tried to put him in the right position for the final sprint.
Things became chaotic with other teams pushing forward and inside the final kilometre Bennett found himself a little far back.
However his strength and composure showed when he moved forward again and was perfectly positioned as the sprint unfolded, tracking former teammate Pascal Ackermann (Israel Premier Tech), blasting past him and holding off the Belgian rider Sascha Weemaes (Bingoal WB) by half a bike length.
With time bonuses applied, he finished 38 seconds clear of Paul Penhoët (Groupama-FDJ) in the final overall standings. He had also more than double the points of Milan Fretin (Cofidis) in the points classification.
"It’s quite nice after a few difficult years. I just want to thank the team again, they were fantastic," he said.
"The flow is back. I might need a bit more top end power, but it is progressing."
Bennett said that he will likely do the Critérium du Dauphiné as buildup for the Tour de France. "I’m preparing as if I’m doing the Tour and hopefully I get the selection," he said, even though it is all but certain he will be prioritised by the team.
"It looks like Dauphiné [beforehand]. I need a good hard race beforehand for preparation."
Bennett’s success brings to an end a long period of frustration. He won two stages plus the green jersey in the 2020 Tour de France but became injured the following year and saw his win rate drop off.
Five victories this week confirm he is back on track and he will continue building towards the Tour with much greater confidence.
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