"No matter which team Tadej rides for, he has a monopoly on the Tour de France" - George Bennett

George Bennett would rather forget the 2025 year altogether. Next to cycling-related problems; crashes, injuries and his team Israel - Premier Tech getting removed from races, the 35-year-old was also challenged on a personal level due to the passing of his mother in April. Now he hopes to have got through the worst and 2026 will be a year in which he will shine again.

"It’s been the toughest year of my life. The season sort of came second, you know, like I kind of did what I could, but I spent a lot of time in New Zealand and a lot of trips home," Bennett tells Domestique.

"[After block of racing in Oceania] I got back to Europe, and I did what I could and did some races, and then after mum passed away, I came back to Europe and did a good block ahead of the Vuelta and then got into good shape. Then I crashed pretty hard on stage 1 of the Tour de Pologne, and then crashed a couple times during the first stage of the Vuelta, which kept me out of the race."

Despite being forced to only watch from the sidelines as his teammate Matthew Riccitello rose to a 5th overall at the Vuelta, Bennett wasn't done with 2025 yet as he hoped to grab his opportunity at some autumn one-day races... Until he couldn't. "I got going again for the Italian Classics, and then obviously we weren’t at those. In the end, it was just one write-off to the next, but in the scheme of things, I wasn’t sitting about moping about the bad season," explained Bennett.

Getting through the difficult period wouldn't have been possible without the people around him, Bennett knows. "I think also having Sam [Bewley] as my director, I was the groomsman at his wedding, you know? I’m surrounded by really caring people, so I think having experience has helped deal with a lot of it, but also being in this environment was a really comforting thing."

"A great example was the day before the Liège-Bastogne-Liège, literally the night before we were all ready to race, and I got a phone call from my sister who said, 'You need to come home quickly.' And the team didn't even hesitate about racing Liège." Instead of heading for a pre-race briefing, Bennett travelled directly to the airport.

Since the Vuelta fiasco, the team has distanced itself from its Israeli identity. That led to a complete restructure on the ownership level, getting brand new sponsors NSN and Stoneweg. The new team is based in Switzerland.

The difference is noticeable, Bennett reveals: "Yeah, it's massive. Like we just had a couple of weeks' camp in Denia, and it was just such a good time, with everyone there. Ahead of all the new arrivals, everyone was excited, all the new equipment. We’ve just stepped up in all those areas."

Just days earlier, Bennett was clipped by a car whilst out training. While he was lucky enough to avoid an injury, his bike wasn't as fortunate. Stuck somewhere in Spain, the Kiwi had to find alternative means of transport home. The name of Andres Iniesta, who is now asociated with the team, helped a lot.

"I was really lucky, I got away fine, but it could have been a lot worse," said Bennett. "I was at the bottom of the road down in Spain, trying to hitchhike my way home, and a guy picked me up. The guy asked which team I rode for, and when I said NSN, he was just fizzing and was like, 'Oh wow, Iniesta.' The vibe that brings suddenly is awesome," said Bennett.

On Tadej Pogacar, the Kiwi also shared his opinion: "The fact is, when you're up against Tadej, realistically no one can beat him, so you have to quantify what success is and then start looking at other areas. Because for so long, it was all about 'who wins the Tour de France,' and that will remain Pogacar for the foreseeable future, for as long as he wants to do it. But then you start looking at things differently, like: how can we be successful? […] Teams need to diversify a bit, because no matter which team Tadej rides for, he has a monopoly on the Tour de France in the general classification.