Sam Bennett’s controversial non-selection by his Bora-hansgrohe team for this year’s Tour de France means that the peloton is once again without an Irish rider in the race, making it the second such edition in a row.
On the surface it seems worrying for the sport here, not least with Tour regulars Nicolas Roche and Dan Martin retiring at the end of 2021. However the truth is somewhat different. Bennett would likely be prioritised on most other sprint-oriented World Tour teams and even if he had just one win this year remains one of the sport’s top sprinters.
Speaking to The Irish Times this week, the 2020 double-stage winner and green jersey spoke of his shock and confusion at being overlooked by Bora-hansgrohe. He said that he needs to ensure he is with whatever team aligns best with his goals next season.
“I’ll have to talk with everybody. See where the best opportunities are and where I am appreciated and wanted,” he said. “Because what you really want is to be appreciated and wanted. To be to be valued. That’s a big thing in the sport. And when a team shows that, that’s something big.”
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Whether he stays put in Bora, something that now seems far from certain, or heads elsewhere he needs to ensure he is once again chasing stages plus the green jersey in 2024.
His current Bora-hansgrohe teammate Ryan Mullen is long overdue a Tour debut. Depending on where he signs for in 2024, he could yet make his debut in the race.
As for up and coming stars Eddie Dunbar (Jayco-AlUla) and Ben Healy (EF Education-Easypost), both are strong enough and talented enough to compete in the event sooner rather than later. This year they and their teams chose the Giro d’Italia as the target instead, but that will likely change for 2024.
Healy won a stage and finished second on another in his Grand Tour debut in May, and told The Irish Times that the French event is a big target for next year.
“Looking ahead to next year I think after the Ardennes Classics, the Tour would be potentially a big goal for me,” he said this week. “Personally I would love to do that. Hopefully it will align with the team’s goals as well.”
As their most successful rider thus far this season, it’s hard to see the squad not wanting him to be there.
As for Dunbar, he finished a superb seventh overall in the Giro in his first opportunity as team leader. He has the class to target a podium finish in future Tours, and will likely be part of the race next year.
Factor in talented under-23 riders such as Darren Rafferty (Hagens Berman Axeon) and Archie Ryan (Jumbo-Visma Development Team), and future Tours could and should feature multiple Irish names on the start list.
This year’s edition begins on Saturday July 1st, with the start of a 3404km journey between the Basque Country and Paris. Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) showed superb form in recent weeks, including domination of the Critérium du Dauphiné, and is regarded by many as the top favourite.
The 2020 and 2021 winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) is his closest rival and might even have been ranked ahead of him had he not crashed in April and suffered a fractured hand. He has worked hard to return to form and is sounding optimistic even if he is under-raced of late.
The Australians Ben O’Connor (Ag2r Citroen) and Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) plus the Spaniard Enric Mas (Movistar Team) are spoken of as the next most likely contenders, but as of now they are a level below the other two.
The Tour’s opening weekend features hilly stages finishing in Bilbao and San Sebastian, then follows with flatter stints to Bayonne and Nogaro which seem destined for bunch sprints.
The first of eight mountain stages then rears up on Wednesday’s stage 5 trek from Pau to Laruns, while the first summit finish occurs the following day at Cauterets Cambasque.
Stages seven and eight could also go to bunch sprints, while stage nine sees the famous Puy de Dôme make a long-awaited return some 35 years after it last featured in the race. It was the setting 49 years ago for the famous shoulder-to-shoulder battle between perennial Tour hopeful Raymond Poulidor and fellow Frenchman Jacques Anquetil, who later became the first man to win five editions.
Poulidor succeeded in dropping Anquetil towards the top of the extinct volcano but wasn’t able to gain enough time to take the yellow jersey or, more importantly, to win the race overall. Expect the iconic climb to result in another huge tussle this time around.
Further summit finishes then occur on stage 13 to Grand Colombier and stage 15 to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc. The remaining mountain stages don’t end in big uphills but are nevertheless very demanding, including stage 17′s four-peak profile which features the highest point in the race, the 2304m high Col de la Loze.
Even without Bennett there is an additional interest to the bunch sprints as Mark Cavendish is vying to improve upon the all-time Tour de France stage win record he shares with Eddy Merckx. The Manxman is in his final season and wants to sign off from the race with at least one stage win. His record quest and what have been sometimes difficult recent seasons will be documented in a newly announced Netflix feature, which will debut on August 2nd.
The final script is yet to be written, of course, with Cavendish’s big quest to play out between Bilbao on Saturday and a massive sprint finale on the Champs Élysées on Sunday July 23rd.
Tour de France (July 1st-23rd)
Stage 1, July 1st: Bilbao – Bilbao, Spain, 182km (hilly). Stage 2, July 2nd: Vitoria-Gasteiz – San Sebastian, Spain, 209km (hilly). Stage 3, July 3rd: Amorebieta-Etxano (Spain) – Bayonne, France, 185km (flat). Stage 4, July 4th: Dax – Nogaro, 182km (flat). Stage 5, July 5th: Pau – Laruns, 165km (mountain). Stage 6, July 6th: Tarbes – Cauterets Cambasque, 145km (mountain). Stage 7, July 7th: Mont-de-Marsan – Bordeaux, 170km (flat). Stage 8, July 8th: Libourne – Limoges, 201km (hilly). Stage 9, July 9th: Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat- Puy de Dôme, 184km (mountain).
Rest day 1, July 10th: Clermont-Ferrand
Stage 10, July 11th: Vulcania (St-Ours-les-Roches) – Issoirem 167km (hilly). Stage 11, July 12th: Clermont-Ferrand – Moulins, 180km (flat). Stage 12, July 13th: Roanne – Chiroubles ou Belleville-en-Beaujolais, 169km (hilly). Stage 13, July 14th: Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne – Grand Colombier, 138km (mountain). Stage 14, July 15th: Annemasse – Morzine, 152km (mountain). Stage 15, July 16th: Les Gets – St-Gervais Mont-Blanc, 180km (mountain).
Rest day 2, July 17th: St-Gervais Mont-Blanc
Stage 16, July 18th: Passy – Combloux, 22km (time trial). Stage 17, July 19th: St-Gervais Mont-Blanc – Courchevel, 166km (mountain). Stage 18, July 20th: Moûtiers – Bourg-en-Bresse, 186km (hilly). Stage 19, July 21st: Moirans-en-Montagne – Poligny, 173km (flat). Stage 20, July 22nd: Belfort – Le Markstein, 133km (mountain). Stage 21, July 23rd: St-Ouentin-en-Yvelines – Paris Champs-Élysées, 115km (flat).
Total: 3404km
