"Everything clicked" for Sam Bennett as he returns to winning ways at Vuelta a Espana

Sam Bennett took an important win today at the Vuelta a Espana, a strong sprint win which has seen him beat strong rivals and take a shot of necessary confidence after a hard year.

“I’m close, but I think this Vuelta will be the key to bringing me back to my top level," Bennett said in a post-stage interview. "To have that hard racing, to get that real strength and depth, that’s what I’m looking for: to be really consistent. But I think now should be the turning point.” This was Bennett's first win since May, and second of the season. He beat high level names such as Mads Pedersen and Tim Merlier, and seems to be getting into the groove at the Vuelta.

“I think legs are more important for me than the head, so I hope they will come good. I know how to win bike races, I know how to get there, I know what to do," Bennett said. "It was one of those days where everything clicked. I think I’m still a little bit off my best but my teammates made a difference today, they’re really fantastic".

Bennett arguably has the best leadout in the race, and once again the presence of Danny van Poppel made all the difference for the Irishman. "I don’t know how he finds those gaps but he hasn’t ever got it wrong yet. He was incredible, he carried so much speed," Bennett said of his teammate, who delivered him into the final meters to take the stage win.

Now in the green jersey, Bennett also discusses the possibility of fighting for the points classification: "I don’t know if they were expecting me to go for more than just stages. They said ‘go for it, try and use minimal effort, but absolutely no problem'."

“I went into the stage with that in the back of my mind, we’ll try and continue going for that as well. The most important thing was to get the stage win first. Now we have that, we can really go for the points jersey," he concluded. Tomorrow in Breda the BORA team will have another shot at success, and motivation will be high after today.