First on Wednesday's opening stage, Irish rider Sam Bennett clocked up his second win in three days when he was first to the line at the end of stage three of the Bayern Rundfahrt race in Germany.
Bennett's success saw him beat former French champion Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis), Ramunas Navardauskas (Cannondale- Garmin) and the rest of the field.
Overnight leader John Dengenkolb, who won the Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix classics this year and took over at the top from Bennett when he took stage two in this week's race, was back in seventh.
The time bonus secured by Bennett for his win into Ebern put him back into the yellow jersey. He is two seconds clear of Bouhanni and a further one ahead of Degenkolb.
“It was quite hectic,” said Bennett, speaking about the finale of the 205.9 kilometre stage. “I kicked quite late, only 100 metres before the finish. It was real tough final. My team again did a great job. I am happy to have taken the yellow jersey once again.”
Bennett has never worn the leader’s jersey in a professional stage race before this week, and so that is a milestone in his career.
The 2.HC-ranked race continues today with a 26.1km time trial starting and finishing in Hassfurt.
Bennett has said he isn’t confident of holding on to the lead in the stage.
However he believes that the final stage could be suited to another sprint finish and that he can once again figure in the bustle of the bunch finish.
