The breakaway, comprising 38 riders and winding through the hills of southern Galicia, saw no less than four members from Bennett’s team. This numerical advantage tasked them with the majority of strategic responsibilities throughout the race.
“It was horrible, no one helped us. I think no-one had GC guys there apart from us, so we were the only ones that… in fact it was the opposite, lot of guys had GC riders in the peloton and they were actively slowing it down,” Bennett explained. “It was a horrible dynamic, the whole group was a sh*thouse, if it wasn’t for Corbin, Marco and Matthew, we probably wouldn’t have stayed away.”
Bennett, who moved up to tenth overall by gaining a significant 4:04 on race leader Ben O’Connor, shared his primary objective had been the stage win.
“We wanted the stage, I thought I had it all lined up, and then [stage winner] Eddie (Dunbar, Jayco-AIUIa) went, it just got so close. What Eddie did was exactly what I was trying to do, and he just did it so well. I’m really disappointed because you saw how well the boys were going. Frigo – it’s hard to explain how strong that guy is, he was pulling that whole break, I’d say he did 98% of that. He was so fast, when I was on the wheels I was just dying. Corbin and Matthew also – they all did so much for me, even when a little group went away before the climb, they pulled so fast on the climb that we just got back to it. So I can’t help but feel disappointed right now.”
Despite these challenges, the team’s efforts were not in vain, though a stage win remained elusive. However, Bennett, whose last top ten finish in a Grand Tour was at the 2018 Giro d’Italia, remains focused on capturing a stage win, emphasizing, “Finishing top ten would be great, but my eyes are on a stage victory. I’ve never won one. So I’ll be looking for more opportunities to get one in the next ten days.”
