George Bennett excited for new type of racing with Israel - Premier Tech: "We’re not doing big mountain trains, because there’s no point unless you’ve got Pogacar or Vingegaard"
Cycling
George Bennett has raced with both Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates, since 2015. However he now is excited for a new challenge and type of racing with Israel - Premier Tech, where he hopes to find his best form and better performances.
“Those last two years went really fast. I made a lot of really good friends at UAE, and there were some awesome moments, like being part of the Tour with Tadej last year but I was just so shit in terms of results," Bennett told GCN. He's leaving UAE Team Emirates at the end of this season, struggling to find form and consistency over his stay, eventually having several riders overtake him in the ranks for the Grand Tours.
"It just didn’t work with what I needed to make me a good rider. It took a while at Jumbo to find out what I need, and I’m a good trainer, but it didn’t really work out for me at UAE. I really struggled with not being at 100 percent. I was still committed but when you’re not at 100 percent it was very frustrating on and off the bike.” At World Tour level he was never close to the front since joining the team, he showed occasional signs such as his sixth place at the Vuelta a Burgos, but ultimately it didn't improve from there on.
“Here’s the thing about UAE: you go to a race and there’s a good chance you’ll be with Adam Yates, Tadej, Ayuso, or Almeida. One of those is going to be a leader on any WorldTour team and one of those is at every single race. Then the next level down is Hirschi and McNulty so it’s unbelievable the line up that they can put together," he said. In there, Bennett could not find leadership. In his next team he hopes that will be the case.
“I’ll try and get results. There will be times when I’m helping others, which I really enjoy, so the key draw is that the team wants to take opportunities. Look at their Giro, they rolled the dice and looked for results," he says, hinting at what can possibly be a big goal for the Kiwi.
"We’re not doing big mountain trains, because there’s no point unless you’ve got Pogacar or Vingegaard at the end of them. It’s more about racing, and going against the odds. I know I’m making it sound all romantic but that’s the scrappy style of racing that I really like. I’m excited by the chance of being a good rider again.”
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- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
- How can you use a photo post incident to judge the incident itself (which is not hard to find if you’re prepared to invest the same amount of time in searching as writing that comment? It’s harsh but technically right even though this or worse is not always sanctioned in every race. The two things that went against MS (who unfortunately for her would still have won without making her mistake) are that it was not a bunch sprint where there could have been an overlooked incident or mitigating circumstances explaining a deviation. Everything was focused on just those 2, Schreiber was riding beautifully balanced which made her sudden deviation look unnatural stroke as if it could have been in some part intentional whilst she was slowly drifting ever closer towards the barrier to a point that would have reached obstruction level. In her defence, it might have been the realisation she was heading towards that that made her react suddenly and caused the deviation involuntarily. In any case, congratulations to her for the ride of her life, in people’s minds she will be credited for it.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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Even G can't predict what will happen 🤔 Geraint Thomas has been looking ahead to a potential startlist that includes Vingegaard, Pogačar, Roglič and Evenepoel at next year's Tour de France 🤯 🗣 Credit: The Geraint Thomas Cycling Club Podcast 📸 Cor Vos
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