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It has been a long time, 31 years in fact, but at the end of stage 5 of the Tour de France, an Irishman ended the drought and put on the green jersey.
Sam Bennett finished only third at Privas, but it was enough to take him to a nine-point lead over Peter Sagan and become the first driver since Sean Kelly to lead the standings.
Kelly was the last man from Ireland to lead a competition on the Tour after he donned the green jersey in Paris and finished ninth overall in 1989.
“What can I say? It’s great to see Sam in the green jersey and it’s even better because he’s from the same city as me in Ireland,” said Kelly, who, as Bennett heralds of Carrick-on-Suir, said Ciclismonews late Wednesday night.
“To get the green jersey on his first Tour de France, he’s way behind and Sam deserves it. He had a bit of a bad time in Bora because they didn’t send him to the Tour last year and now he’s on his first Tour and in the green jersey. “.
The only thing Bennett is missing at this point in the race is a first stage win. It’s been brought up close several times, but Kelly believes that the rider who helped develop through the ranks should focus on getting a win at this point, rather than the tight battle to end the grip almost like a Peter Sagan vice on the green shirt.
“He has to get a stage win, and he’s in the right form. He is one of the fastest men here, alongside Caleb Ewan. But if he achieves a stage win, it could really prepare him for the green jersey.”
Bennett, of course, went through the ranks of the Kelly’s An Post team before moving to NetApp in 2014, which later became Bora-Hansgrohe. Kelly fondly recalls how passionate and talented Bennet was from a young age, and how he matured as a rider as he progressed through the ranks.
“I remember when I was young, maybe 13 or so, before he started running back to Ireland actually, and we used to be by the sea in a trailer park and he used to run around there with my son, who is the same age, and people would give up because they would be zig-zagging and riding through the crowd. That was before he joined the local club and got into racing. ” Eurosport commenter said Ciclismonews.
“When he started in Ireland, he dominated the races all the time. There was always that potential there, but it’s always hard to know how far the riders will go because they can be really good at the lower echelons, but when they move up they don’t.” However, when Sam rose to the under-23 level, he showed that he had a quick sprint. We took him to the An Post team and he kicked a lot. He won a stage on the Tour of Great Britain and that was a breakthrough for him. “
The battle for the green jersey is just beginning and the differences are minimal at the moment. Sagan is known for his consistency and his ability to find points on stages that are not suited to sprinters. Still, Kelly believes Bennett can close the gap and bring the three-time world champion closer to Paris.
“He will definitely be there. He will give a good race and Sagan will definitely have more opposition this year. It is still the first days of the race, but we know Bennett is consistent, but he will be there any day for the sprinters. He has a good chance to compete for him. green jersey to Paris “.
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