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JOHN COWPLAND / PHOTOSPORT
George Bennett celebrates after winning the men’s road race at the Cambridge National Championships.
Jumbo-Visma star George Bennett has earned the right to wear the national jersey at the WorldTour after producing a dominant run to win the men’s road race at the New Zealand championships for the first time in his professional career.
Runner-up to Shane Archbold last year, Bennett dug deep in the final 10 kilometers to run solo to finish the line at Cambridge on Sunday, motivated by the opportunity to wear the silver fern in some of the biggest races in the world, including the Giro. d’Italia.
SKY SPORTS
Jumbo-Visma driver George Bennett returns home to win the first national championship.
Bennett was behind the leading group by four minutes at one point in the race, but was able to close the gap with the help of Black Spoke Cycling Academy rider Aaron Gate, who beat him by 0.7 seconds to win the time trial on Friday. .
Nelson’s driver made his move with 10 kilometers to go, leaving Mark Stewart, Michael Torckler and Ryan Christensen in second place.
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JOHN COWPLAND / PHOTOSPORT
George Bennett is congratulated by teammate Caitlin Fielder at the finish line.
“It’s so special,” Bennett said. “It was a very tough race and in the final kilometers I was thinking a lot about taking the fern in Europe.
“I was absolutely on my knees, but my two companions, [Michael] Vink and [Aaron] The gate split in less than a second on Friday and we worked really hard to close that big gap, but I didn’t know how I was going to win from there.
“We had run out of hills and we had a lot to do, but when I got a hole my legs were running out but I started thinking about wearing the fern and representing New Zealand at the Giro d’Italia and all the big races. this year.
“It is not the most important race on my calendar, the national one, but it is very important for me, especially when you win.”
BikeExchange rider Georgia Williams announced her return from injury and illness to support Friday’s time trial triumph by beating Kate McCarthy in a final sprint to win the women’s road race.
JOHN COWPLAND / PHOTOSPORT
Georgia Williams defeated Kate McCarthy in a final sprint to win her second women’s road race.
