Riders to Watch in 2015 – Sam Bennett (interview)

“I was happy. I wanted to maintain consistency in races and results and that’s what I got. I was disappointed with the 2^nd half of the season because my immature side came out. I wanted to gain more form and I got sick a couple of times, which didn’t help. I would have liked it to have gone a bit better. It was a great learning curve this year, I really enjoyed it,” he said.

“When I started it was a bit strange going up against Kittel, Greipel and co with a full team supporting me. I didn’t want to let them down, I felt a lot of pressure. At the beginning, to be given the opportunity to sprint against them, I was pinching myself a bit, but you get you used to it and you just want to compete and get good results.”

It wasn’t long before Sam started to impress. He took 3rd place in the final stage in the Tour of Oman, in February. No one would be taking him lightly from now on!

“It was a proud moment but I was a bit angry at myself, as I got blocked on the right side of the road. I would have liked to have started my sprint earlier…yeah, I’ll take 3^rd. It was my best result so far, and there were 2 big names ahead of me (Greipel and Bouhanni).”

The disappointment didn’t hang around for long. Just one week later, he took his first win for his new team and his first ever win in a 1.1 race. It was in Spain at the Clasica de Almeria, a race that Movistar don’t like to lose.

“I was really, really happy. Movistar knew me from Qatar and Oman, they were trying to make the pace really hard and uncomfortable throughout the race. Any time we approached a climb, they were bringing the pace up massively. They tried to split it in the crosswinds and they were trying to jump individually, at the end. The team did a great job supporting me, all the guys did a great job. I went early, at 200m, and the long way round. I then hit a block headwind and I didn’t think I was going to make it. My legs started to buckle but I wanted to win after the lads doing such a great job. To get the win, I was absolutely delighted.”

A spell in Belgium followed, with plenty of races suited to his characteristics. Yes he can sprint, but Sam can also climb. Back in 2013, he won a stage in the Tour of Britain, that featured 2 ascents of Caerphilly Mountain. Races that feature short, steep hills are right up his street. His best result was 5th in Scheldeprijs.

“I like racing in Belgium. They’re always really hard and aggressive. I was happy with 5^th as I was 40 places back with 40km to. Zak Dempster and Blaz Jarc, did a great job of moving me up the bunch, so 5^th was great.”

Sam then got to live the dream of many cycling fans, Paris-Roubaix!

“Roubaix was a very hard race. I think, being a sprinter really helped me a lot when we were fighting for position going into each cobbled section. For the first 100km I was in the right position, then I crashed before the Arenberg. The pace went up through the roof and I couldn’t get back on. I spent all day out the back. I found it more uncomfortable on the bike then hard. I could go at my own pace but the surface is unbelievably rough, it looks so smooth on TV compared to what it actually is.”

His amazing start to the season continued in mid April, with a win in Rund um Koln. Two early wins was exactly the type of return everyone had hoped for. I asked Sam if this win was better than Almeria.

“I did enjoy it a bit more because it was a very hard race and the weather conditions made it even harder. I analysed the finish on the final laps and I made a plan. I didn’t want to go early at 200m, so everything fell into place and I wanted to leave the sprint as late as possible, to keep my cool and not panic. I was delighted I was able to do that as a lot of guys panic and go too early, so I had a plan and I pulled it off perfectly. I nearly lost it, but it was great and the team did a great job helping me.”

A 3rd win followed in Bayern Rundfahrt and Sam set his sights on a return to the Tour of Britain. This was a massive goal, as it’s as close to a home race as he’ll get. It started well, with a podium spot on stage 2 but Sam was a DNS on stage 7, due to illness.

“It was very disappointing. The weeks coming up to it I put a lot of effort into training and trying to peak for it. I got a little ill after Hamburg but I still had a lot of volume and I thought I’d be okay to carry some form into the race. To get sick was very frustrating, but I was really happy to pull out a podium result, even though I didn’t have the legs to do so. I managed to hold on for a 3^rd place finish, it was okay, it was better than nothing.”

Illness was a contributing factor in Sam only completing 52 race days this year. The low total was not what he’d hoped for, in his first season in the big leagues.

“It was very frustrating, I wanted to have a bit more. I wanted to build on the first half of the season and come back with more wins but looking back, with hindsight, you can’t always get it right!”

I must confess to being a cycling geek! I love reading and hearing about max watts, training programs and how much analysis goes on in the professional peloton. I couldn’t resist asking Sam about these issues. We started with TV replays.

“I always watch my replays. I watch what other guys did and how they finished up. How the peloton was moving and try to work out the characteristics of other riders. I always watch to see where I’ve made a mistake. When I analyse it, before I watch it, I try to think of mistakes I’ve made and see if I did make those mistakes on TV. I try to learn from them. I think that’s the best way.”

So it’s not just me, rewinding and watching the sprints over and over again. I found it interesting that Sam also likes to watch his competitors to try and understand their style. A clever move, if you ask me. Next up was maximum watts produced in a sprint.

“I don’t actually put out a lot of watts in the sprint, at the end of the race. I might only put out 1200-1300 at the end of the race, because I’ll be tired coming to the end. I have a really good turn of speed for 100-150m to come around guys. In training, I can put out 1600+ watts, but never really in a race.“

Having interviewed a few sprinters, I’m always amazed that most of them don’t have a dedicated sprint program. To me it seems very obvious that sprinters should try to replicate race conditions, to try and improve their sprint.

“I don’t really do a lot of sprint training as such. We do a bit in the training camps to get the train right, but I try to focus on getting to the finish line as fresh as possible. I do a little bit, in the off-season, it’s something I’d like to improve on this coming season.”

Looking ahead to 2015, the team is changing sponsor and becomes Team Bora – Argon 18. They are also starting to build a sprint train for Sam, a sure sign that they are happy with his progress and want to commit resources into trying to help him improve.

“It builds confidence that the team has confidence in me. They believe I can win races and they want to support me, it’s a big confidence booster.”

They have signed Shane Archbold, Sam’s old lead-out man from his An Post days, I wondered if Sam had any influence on the decision.

“No. The team wanted to get someone to support me for 2015. Shane is a strong rider in his own right. He got a fantastic 2^nd place in the Tour of Britain, this year. When the team saw how strong he was they came to me and asked what kind of rider he was and would he fit the role. I thought he was the perfect guy and I put in a good word for him, as he is my friend! But no, the team saw his strength and decided to sign him.”

The relationship between sprinter and lead-out is crucial. They have to blindly trust each other or the whole thing falls apart. Having two good friends, in these roles is obviously a big advantage.

“Yes, absolutely. We get along great and you need guys you can trust. When you start working with guys more and more, you get to know each other better and the lead-outs get better. Also with Zac and the other guys in the team, the more we practise the better we get.”

Positioning can be as important as speed, for sprinters. Big races are often dominated by Lotto, Argos and OPQS making it difficult for the smaller teams to push their way in.

“You have to be in a good position coming into the finale. I find a lot of times you waste more energy in the final kilometres to be in the right position and then sprint. If you sprint with more energy but are in a bad position, you’re never going to make it. Sometimes you have to use up a bit of energy and you might sprint a little bit slower but if you’re coming from the right spot you have a better chance of winning.”

Cycling is a very punishing sport, especially for sprinters. They have many chances to shine but days in the mountains are torture. With all the TV cameras focused on the head of the race, they toil away trying to get their bodies over the climbs. Sam was kind enough to re-live his worst day on the bike, in 2014.

“Tirreno Adriatico, stage 4, 7 hours in the saddle! I tried to stay with the peloton up a climb after 120km and I absolutely blew up. When the grupetto came by I couldn’t hang on with them. The stage was 244km and I had to try and hold on. I remember that it was the longest day of my life (laughing). Then, trying to get up the final climb (Selva Rotonda), which was 15km long…. I could have cried (wincing!). It’s a day I’d like to forget. I never knew I was going to have to learn how to get dropped and be in the right place, in the right group. to save energy. I saw so many stars that day….. it was a hard day!”

We ended the interview looking at his goals for 2015.

“I’d like to get more wins than 2014. A goal for me is the Tour de France and put out a good performance. I’ll take every opportunity I can and try to help the team to as many wins as possible.”

There was some surprise that Sam wasn’t selected for the 2014 Tour de France. The team probably made the right call, looking to protect their young star. With another year in his legs, Sam will be ready in 2015. To make the team, he needs to start clocking up the wins early in the year. This shouldn’t be a problem, especially with his old pal Archbold in front of him. They made an excellent pairing, at An Post, and will look to surprise some of the big teams. A sprinter doesn’t always need a long train. With a very fast final man, it’s possible to come from deep and go bang! It was the tactic that FDJ used to use with Soupe and Demare.

2015 is going to be a big year for Sam, will Irish eyes be smiling?