“I think I’m stuck in a rut" - After quiet season Sam Bennett hopes team change can reignite his career in 2024

One regarded as one of the most dominant sprinters in the peloton, Sam Bennett struggled for success in 2023 with just three wins added to his palmares. With his time at BORA - hansgrohe coming to an end the Irishman will reportedly join the AG2R Citroen Team next year. Can a change of team reignite his career?

“I think I’m stuck in a rut, so a change is probably what’s needed, and I’m really excited for next season,” Bennett told Cycling News from the Tour of Guangxi, without confirming the rumours of who his new contract will be with. “I’m missing a bit of my top end. I think I need to build the engine a little more to get to the finish a little fresher, and that way I can get to the finish with 200 or 300 more watts like I used to have. I’m only sprinting with 1200 watts here. I’m still getting close enough, but that’s not the 1500 or 1600 watts I’m used to. I think it’s something I can get back during the winter.”

After finishes of 3rd and 6th on the first two stages in China, hopes were high that Bennett could end his spell at BORA - hansgrohe with a victory. In the subsequent three stages however, the 33-year-old hasn't featured at all.

“I kind of got false hope from the first two stages, because they were super easy and I could kind of take the slipstream of the other guys and try to come late,” Bennett said. “But on stage 3, I was found out. I was dropped early, and then I came back about four times before I was definitively dropped. I was suffering and tired, and I was really tired the day afterwards. I’ve just spent too much time off the bike due to sickness in the last few months.”