Sam Bennett will continue building form this week after a solid recent showing in the UAE Tour, with the Paris-Nice event representing his second race of the season.
The lumpy profile of Sunday’s opening stage to Mantes la Ville didn’t play to the strengths of Bennett and Bora-hansgrohe team-mate Ryan Mullen, with Jumbo-Visma trio Christophe Laporte, Primoz Roglic and Wout Van Aert breaking clear on a climb close to the end and finishing in that order. The Irish duo were in a group just over two minutes back.
However, Monday’s stage two to Orléans is much more likely to end in a bunch sprint and Mullen will do what he can to help Bennett contest the top placings.
“That was a classic Paris-Nice stage today, very hard and very stressful,” Bennett said. “I’m super happy with how we worked as a team during the stage. We were very well positioned at the crucial points and the guys did a great job to support me.
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- March 7, 2022
