Nicolas Roche represented Ireland in the Tour de France last year. In 2015, we will have another rider. Sprinter Sam Bennett from Carrick-on-Suir will compete for the Bora-Argon 18 team.
The 24-year-old told Cycling Weekly:
This will be my first Tour de France. It’s fantastic - it’ll be great for the experience. I missed out on it last year. I’ll be delighted to get my first start.
Sam is the son of Michael Bennett, a former League of Ireland player and manager with Waterford United. He was born in Belgium where his father played professionally with Eendracht Wervik.
Bennett came to prominence recently by winning a stage of the Tour of Qatar. It was this victory which got him the place on Bora's roster for the TDF.
This means there could be four Irish representatives in the Tour de France this year - Bennett, Roche, Dan Martin and Philip Deignan.
Picture credit: Paul Mohan / SPORTSFILE
