Sam Bennett had another strong day at the Giro d’Italia on Tuesday, netting third on the race’s longest stage. Bennett was strong enough to stay in the peloton on the stage’s early climbs, with the slopes sufficiently tough to see off the chances of his chief sprint rival Elia Viviani (QuickStep Floors) and others.
He hoped to land a second stage win but Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida) and Nico Denz (AG2R La Mondiale) were able to slip clear close to the end and hold on to take first and second. Bennett was best of the 59 riders in the depleted main bunch, netting what was his fourth podium finish in the race.
Importantly, he picked up 18 points and thus inched closer to sprint classification leader Viviani. The Italian is on 178 points, with Bennett on 112 but gaining in confidence and momentum. Simon Yates continues to lead overall, but his Mitchelton-Scott teammate Esteban Chaves lose his second place in the general classification when he had a bad day. Yates is now 41 seconds clear of last year’s race winner Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb).
In other news, a strong Irish national team for the Rás Tailteann has been unveiled. Robert Jon McCarthy, Darnell Moore, Marc Potts, Jake Gray and James Curry will represent Ireland in the race, which begins this Sunday and runs for eight days.
McCarthy is a strong sprinter who won the Australian junior national championship ahead of Caleb Ewan in 2012. Two years later, he won the opening stage of the Rás, while more recently he was fifth this month on a stage of the prestigious Tour de Yorkshire.
“He is capable of stage wins and a strong overall performance,” says national performance coach Neill Delahaye. “This will also be his first cap for Ireland, after years of racing for Australia.”
Giro d'Italia: Stage 10, Penne to Gualdo Tadino: 1, Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida) 244 kilometres in 6 hours 4 mins 52 secs; 2, N. Denz (AG2R La Mondiale); 3, S. Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) at 34 secs; 4, E. Battaglin (LottoNL-Jumbo); 5, D. Ballerini (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec); 6, M. Würtz Schmidt (Katusha-Alpecin) all same time
Other Irish: 27, N. Roche (BMC Racing Team) same time; 149, R. Mullen (Trek-Segafredo) at 30 mins 14 secs
General classification after stage 10: 1, Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) 43 hours 42 mins 38 secs; 2, T. Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) at 41 secs; 3, T. Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) at 46 secs; 4, D. Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida) at 1 min; 5, R. Carapaz (Movistar Team) at 1 min 23 secs; 6, G. Bennett (LottoNL-Jumbo) at 1 min 36 secs
Irish: 52, N. Roche (BMC Racing Team) at 35 mins 23 secs; 96, S. Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) at 1 hours 22 mins 53 secs; 154, R. Mullen (Trek-Segafredo) at 1 hours 58 mins 6 secs
Points classification: 1, Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) 178 pts; 2, S. Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) 112; 3, D. Ballerini (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) 87; 4, S. Modolo (EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale) 73; 5, S. Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) 61; 6, E. Battaglin (LottoNL-Jumbo) 53
Mountain classification: 1, Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) 55 pts; 2, E. Chaves (Mitchelton-Scott) 47; 3, T. Pinot (Groupama-FDJ 36
