Sam Bennett likely to end season as Covid-19 infection causes serious difficulties: "I had no energy"

Sam Bennett endured a rough season with lack of form seeing him out of contention throughout most of the year, until the Vuelta a Espana where he bounced back to take two stage wins, and wear the green jersey throughout much of the opening week. That was until on the second rest day he tested positive for Covid-19 and abandoned the race.

“The recovery is going a bit crazy because I didn't feel so bad at first. After eight days I tested negative again and was checked on my heart, lungs and blood. Then I got the green light to start training again, but the problem came after that," Bennett told the Irish Times. "I had no energy. After two hours I was up and had to recover for two or three days."

The news came in a very bad time, after he had just recovered what seemed to be good form and confidence within BORA-hansgrohe. “That's a shame, because I was just starting to get into it. But that too is sports. It's a shame you can lose so much so quickly," he said. Feeling a lot of damage from his infection, it comes as further setback after a season that has already seen him miss the Tour de France for example due to bad form. 

“There is some improvement, but I need to see how I feel the day after. I was hoping to return soon, but I think for a professional athlete, the coronavirus has more impact than you really think. Your performance is not the same. Somethings missing," he said. "If I can't fully train this week, we'll have to see if it's better to finish this season now. Then I can focus on next season. Or do we keep pushing?

Bennett did not have many races which he could target in this final month of the season, but he was hoping to give continuation to his better run of form. However that seems unlikely now. “Hopefully I can race again soon, but then the body has to cooperate. I would like to do a few more races this year. If that is not the case, then we have to cut the knot," he concluded.