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Down but not out.
George Bennett hit the deck twice in a wild opening stage of the Tour de France on Sunday (NZT), but the Jumbo-Visma rider vows to move on after being cleared of a serious injury.
“I feel better than when I first hit the ground,” Bennett said. “I’m sure it’s only skin deep and the injuries I have won’t stop me when I’m on the bike.”
Known for its sunny weather, the seaside city of Nice looked more like a treacherous ice rink, as heavy rains and storms wreaked havoc on the opening day of the sport’s main race.
Christophe Petit-Tesson / AP
New Zealand rider George Bennett was one of many who got off his bike on the first stage of the Tour de France.
And Bennett, who is competing in his fourth Tour de France and playing a key supporting role for yellow jersey favorite Primoz Roglic and co-leader Tom Dumoulin, couldn’t escape the carnage, falling not once, but twice on the stage. of 156 kilometers.
The 30-year-old driver crashed for the first time on a downhill hill with about 30 km to go and sat in the middle of the road holding his shoulder.
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Bennett managed to rejoin the peloton only to crash again with 3km to go.
His fellow New Zealander Sam Bewley helped him get back on his bike.
Christophe Ena / AP
Sam Bewley, left, helps fellow Kiwi George Bennett get back on his bike after Bennett’s second accident of the day.
“We neutralized the descent to stop the crashes and it was so slippery that even going to a crawl I hit a big oil slick and went over the high side on the bike and landed heavy there.
“The last 3km to go was inevitable. It was a really crazy day, I had never ridden on roads like this. “
The riders had successfully requested that the stage be neutralized with times taken for the overall classification at the 3km mark to avoid further crashes on the final long stretch of the road tailor-made for sprinters.
In the end, it was UAE Team Emirates driver Alexander Kristoff who claimed stage honors, with the Norwegian racing in a final sprint.
Defending champion Egan Bernal’s Ineos team was particularly hit by torrential rain at the Riviera resort after a long period of hot and dry weather.
Christophe Ena / AP
George Bennett is back on his bike after his first downhill crash.
Two of the Colombian climber’s key teammates, Pavel Sivakov and Andrey Amador, were involved in pileups, while several overall contenders, including Frenchman Thibaut Pinot and Colombian climber Nairo Quintana, also fell.
Amador and Sivakov, who were included on the Ineos roster on a mission to support Bernal on the big mountain stages scheduled later in the race, even went down twice as Bennett.
Sivakov struggled to reach the finish, with blood gushing from both arms, and he fell 13 minutes behind Kristoff.
Stuart Franklin / AP
Alexander Kristoff celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the first stage of the Tour de France.
“I think the peloton was essentially great and everyone took it easy, with the exception of Astana. But we have seen that there are already three guys out of the race and a lot of damage everywhere, ”said Bennett.
“I think everyone will be happy to hit some dry roads and finish the first week and start this crazy start.
“I’m happy that Tom and Primoz got through it without a problem and that’s the main thing for us. They stood upright and wasted no time and we are still in a good position ”.
In the most spectacular spill, Astana leader Miguel Ángel López crashed into a sign after his team decided to speed down a downhill despite agreement in the peloton to slow down. Astana said he escaped unscathed.
The clash near the end also saw Pinot, the great local hope for the overall victory who was forced to withdraw from the Tour last year a short distance from Paris due to a leg injury, fall hard, slicing a dejected figure in the middle of the road with her lacerated sweater.
– Additional reporting material
