Sam Bennett eager to hit the road running after turning professional

Clocking up the best off-season training of his career, the Irish cyclist Sam Bennett is motivated to make an early impression when he lines out in his first races as a professional rider.

The 23-year-old secured a professional contract in the wake of a storming Tour of Britain performance last September. Bennett upstaged the pros when he won the hilly stage to Caerphilly, and was also second in two others.

On day two he finished just behind the Milan-San Remo winner Gerald Ciolek into Kendal. Then, on the final stage in London, he was the only one able to put 25-time Tour de France stage winner Mark Cavendish under pressure inside the final 200 metres.

He was runner-up to the Manxman there, but looked to be a rider who could trouble Cavendish in the future. The NetApp Endura team was one of several which recognised his potential, and subsequently offered him a two-year deal. Bennett has been working well since then and is raring to go.

'Training a lot different'
"Everything seems to be going well," the former European junior track champion told The Irish Times. "My training has been a lot different this winter. I used to always do long miles and do big blocks, but now the most I would do would be two or three days with efforts, and then I would go to an easy day, maybe an hour.

“It is almost like training during the season. I am tired each day, but I am not goosed by the end of the week.”

Bennett began working with the American trainer Neal Henderson in 2013. He coaches the BMC Racing Team pro Taylor Phinney and others. His guidance has worked well for the Carrick-on-Suir rider, who comes from the same hometown as former world number one Sean Kelly.

“It is good,” he said. “I never had a good pre-season before. I am healthy and everything seems to be flowing along. It is kind of strange in one way. I am kind of thinking ‘am I too far ahead of schedule?’ But it is just because I am not playing catch-up like other years.”

Physiological testing in November showed that he was in good shape prior to picking up on his training again. “Everything was good. I had only six per cent body fat, and my power output wasn’t far off what it was at the Tour of Britain. I had a good VO2 max too, 81.7. So I was happy with that,” he said.

Since then, he’s been building his form and is waiting to hear what his first races will be. His team is still finalising the invites it will get and the rosters for the early races, but Bennett expects to be in action in February. Until then, he’ll continue to prepare methodically, working hard without doing too much, too soon.

“The main thing I am being told by people is that a lot of guys turn pro and think they have to do more than they do. They are in very good shape at the start of the year and then they blow up early on. So I’m being told to relax a bit, to keep doing what I am doing rather than pushing any harder.

"That said, I still hope to be in good shape. I would definitely love to hit the season with a bang and try to get an early result. I don't know how it will turn out, but all I can do is try my best."

Wildcard invite
Apart from notching up results, goals for year one include finishing one of the big Classics and also riding, and completing, a Grand Tour. His team said this week that it would try to secure a wildcard invite to the Tour de France, concentrating totally on that rather than seeking to ride the Giro d'Italia.

That means that Bennett will miss out on a chance to start the latter race in Ireland; the first three stages will be held here in May. However, on the plus side, if his team gets into the Tour de France, he would be considered for a place. “Doing a Grand Tour would give you knowledge and strength that you couldn’t get from training in other types of races,” he said. “So that is something that I would love to do as soon as I can.”

Undoubtedly talented, Bennett is also down to earth and modest. He’s well liked in Irish cycling and his former Iverk Produce Carrick Wheelers team formed a guard of honour last week in Sean Kelly square, marking his transition from amateur to pro and wishing him well.It was a gesture which made an impression on him.

“It was awesome. It was real nice of the guys to come out, because it was absolutely miserable weather,” he said. “Some guys left their homes at half eight, when it was still only getting bright. They came all the way to do that for me. I really appreciate it . . . I love that they came out to do that.”

The feeling is undoubtedly mutual. Bennett is on the cusp of something big, and those who were there will likely relive that moment in the years to come.