Stage 10 of the Tour de France rolls into Île de Ré this afternoon and Waterford native Sam Bennett is looking to be crowned the island sprint king on the west coast seaside resort.
The Deceuninck–Quick-Step rider has yet to win a coveted stage of the world's greatest bike race, yet the renowned sprinter could be in with a great chance to pass that particular milestone later today.
The tenth stage of this year’s race is incredibly flat, and as a result, has been pencilled in as a sprinters’ stage, with an expected bunch sprint likely to settle the day’s action.
And former World Championships Scratch Race gold medallist and Irish Olympian, Martyn Irvine, believes the stage is set for the Carrick-on-Suir rider to secure top spot on the podium.
"From Sam’s point of view, it’s a flat course, his team are good at riding flat and I think they will all rally around him to get him into that first position.
"They’re one of the best teams in the world, they’ll want a stage win and Sam is their best chance. They have the horsepower to put him in the right position."
And while the flat course would indicate a bunch finish, Irvine urged caution as a devilish wind tends to blow off the Pertuis d'Antioche strait, especially across the 2.9-kilometre bridge where the mainland is attached to the island.
"It really suits the team’s skillset," added Irvine. "It's exposed on the coast and there is a chance that if the wind picks up, there might be a lot more damage and it might not be just a simple bunch sprint."
Bennett remains in the hunt for the sprinters’ green jersey and has already worn the shirt on two stages of the this year’s Tour.
And while no Irishman had worn that jersey since Sean Kelly’s glory days in the 1980s, Bennett sits just seven points off the formidable Peter Sagan in the overall classification.
However, Irvine is not yet convinced that Bennett can carry that challenge all the way to Paris with two week’s gruelling racing through the tough mountain ranges of the Alps and the Pyrnees yet to be negotiated.
"Sagan has more than proved that he is well able to go the distance.
"And that’s the only thing that maybe I would doubt about Sam. It’s yet to be seen if he can survive through the mountains and carry it on for the next couple of weeks."
Speaking ahead of two very winnable stages, Bennett said that while it was nice to take green for a couple of days, his immediate focus remains on taking a win.
"It was a real enjoyable moment in the Tour, it was great," he said. "But at the end of the day I haven't won the green jersey.
"It would be too easy to settle for it and say I've done something but I haven't really done much, I just held it for two days.
"I think I should definitely take some confidence away from it but I haven't completed anything I came here to do, so the pressure is still on."
