"In my opinion bonuses are not necessary" - Tiesj Benoot criticises the amount of bonus seconds on offer at 2023 Tour de France
Cycling
The 2023 Tour de France has more than lived up to the hype so far with just 10 seconds all that separates Maillot Jaune, Jonas Vingegaard and his closest rival, Tadej Pogacar. Vingegaard's Jumbo-Visma teammate Tiesj Benoot however, has criticised the amount of bonus seconds that have been available throughout the race.
As mentioned, just 10 seconds are between the two main contenders for the Yellow Jersey. Had bonus seconds not been involved however, this gap would stretch to 28 seconds in Vingegaard's favour. Not a massive difference admittedly, but when every second counts, those 18 extra seconds gained by Pogacar could prove incredibly vital.
"In my opinion bonuses are not necessary for an attractive Tour. Sometimes I think they are even a brake on an attractive course, especially on the road. There are days when we tried to give away those bonuses," says Benoot in a rest day interview with Sporza. "For the spectators it is very nice and exciting that there is practically no difference. It is of course more pleasant for us to go into the last week with a bigger lead."
Next up for the riders is a potentially decisive individual time-trial, followed by a mountainous challenge on stage 17. "We're going to see differences in that anyway. And on Wednesday too, those differences can be greater than the last mountain stages," evaluates Benoot. “It will be by far the hardest ride I will ever have done. Not only in the Tour, but in all the rounds that I have already ridden. It really is a monster stage."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Congrats! It is done so now is time for CX.averagecyclist15-11-2026
- It's going to happen at some point. It will happen to Tadej as well, we all get older. Jonas was in pretty great form at the tour. I still consider him a top two or three cyclist in the world, until he's not.awp15-11-2026
- mij, I am not so sure of that. I have been on a spine ward at a Denver hospital that had quite a few spinal injuries from mountain biking.BDBigGuy15-11-2026
- Pogi takes care of his teammates in races and training. Tadej Pogačar is widely praised within the cycling peloton for his fair and egalitarian leadership, actively supporting his UAE teammates both on the road during races and behind the scenes at training camps. Rather than acting like an untouchable superstar, he has intense team loyalty by sharing daily chores, giving up personal glory to help domestiques, and publicly praising their sacrifices. Unlike some Grand Tour contenders, like Vingegaard, who occasionally train away from their squads, Pogi consistently attends team training camps alongside his domestiques, making the exact same sacrifices to build friendship. I love how Pogačar shares his teammates-domestiques, either when they succeed or win in races or when they simply just do a good job for him. It has to be a great moral boost for them. And then they work even harder and go even deeper for Pogi. This is teamwork.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- Yeah, what he said!Lozza15-11-2026
- I’m sure Jasper Philipsen would disagree with you.Lozza15-11-2026
- Article says he was “out for a spin around the town”, implying not off-road.Lozza15-11-2026
- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
- there are more vicious injuries on a road bike than a mountain bike far and away.mij15-11-2026
- That'll be one crazy rider
Rafionain-Glas15-11-2026
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