We wrote yesterday that Sam Bennett looked to be back to somewhere near his best, after a tough year of loss of form, injuries, and missing out on Tour de France selection.
His victory in today's stage 3 of the Vuelta a Espana, which gave him back to back wins on the Spanish Grand Tour, has all but confirmed that he well and truly is back to said best. The same best that won him the points classification at the 2020 Tour de France.
While yesterday's stage win was tight and dramatic, today's victory went one better as we saw Sam Bennett come from a tough position, behind a few riders in the pack, to show a world class kick and out sprint the field.
The man from Carrick-on-Suir beat out Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) and Daniel McClay (Team Arkea-Samsic), to claim his fifth Vuelta stage win and his tenth Grand Tour stage. It is also the first time he has claimed two stage wins in a row in a three week event.
Brilliant Sam Bennett
WHAT A FINISH 🤩 and back-to-back wins for Sam Bennett! #LaVuelta22 pic.twitter.com/PV9ek85AMF
— Eurosport (@eurosport) August 21, 2022
SEE ALSO: Tour De France 2022: Coach Explains The Absence Of Sam Bennett
Bennett described yesterday's victory in his Vuelta diary with the Irish Independent.
"I could see the line closing in but, in my head, it was pure panic. I really thought somebody was going to jump out of my slipstream and come around me. Like the scene in Pirates of the Caribbean where Jack Sparrow is running down the beach being chased by cannibals, I expected to be gobbled up before the line.
"To cross the line half a bike length clear with my fist in the air to win the stage was a huge relief and continues my run of winning a stage in every Grand tour I’ve ridden since 2018. The 50 points I got for the stage win put me into the green jersey too, which is a nice bonus.
"To win today is fantastic because it takes a little bit of the pressure off. We’ll enjoy the moment tonight but we’ll wake up in the morning, forget about it, and go for another stage."
SEE ALSO: Sam Bennett Wins Thrilling Sprint Finish At The Vuelta A Espana
