Sam Bennett reacts to Caleb Ewan’s retirement and talks about his hunger for Giro glory: “We can’t leave the Giro without winning a stage”
Cycling
The Grand Tour season officially begins tomorrow as the Giro
d’Italia 2025 gets underway, and for Sam Bennett, the stakes are clear. The
Irish sprinter is desperate to return to the top step after a challenging
period, and he leads Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale into Italy with a point to
prove.
Bennett hasn't won a Grand Tour stage since the 2022 Vuelta
a España, and he knows that has to change. Speaking to Cycling News, he made
his ambitions clear: "We can't leave the Giro without winning a
stage."
Now 34, Bennett remains hungry for success and is heading
into the race with a new approach after a change in training methods. "I'm
feeling quite okay. I've changed my training quite a bit over the last month or
two, so I'm a bit apprehensive, but I should be fine," he said.
“It's nothing major, but we saw that the last three, four
years that I've been training to get speed, because we thought that I was
missing that in my sprint, but we did more digging, and we saw that it was
torque I was missing. So to get that, I've done a lot more shorter rides."
Bennett also spoke about shifting away from the traditional
volume-heavy training many sprinters rely on. "I'm used to approaching
Grand Tours a little bit differently, maybe a bit more old school, where I want
to do more hours on the bike because I kind of think the fundamentals of
cycling don't really change. But to be honest, I don't really miss the endurance
so much at the minute, I think at my age it's something that's kind of pretty
much built in."
His mindset stands in contrast to Caleb Ewan, who earlier
this week stunned the cycling world by announcing his retirement from the
sport, citing a loss of motivation. But for Bennett, that fire is still
burning.
“No, it's still the same. I still have that hunger. I still
want it as bad. I mean, I still get that pain in my gut every time I lose a
race, so I know the want to still win is there. I still want to win at the
WorldTour. I want to win here, now I just have to try and go out and get a few
stages."
Ewan’s decision did leave an impression on Bennett, however.
"It was a bit of a shock, actually, he was a guy that I was quite close to
in the peloton, off the bike as well, and it kind of shocked me that people
around me are retiring," he said.
“Because I still feel quite young and feel like I have a
good couple of years left in me. But it feels weird, actually. We had some good
battles, and during moments in our careers, we pushed each other to our limits
and got the best out of ourselves because of it."
As the Giro begins, Bennett is focused on turning effort
into results and proving that the adjustments he's made are already paying off.
"I mean, it's been a while, and so it would be something that would be
quite nice, and would also back up the changes we've made the last couple of
weeks and months to show that we are going in the right direction," he
said. "But also to just kind of show that I'm still here."
Whilst it has been a while, Bennett is one of the very best
sprinters in the world on his day. Remember, the first day of the Giro could
end up in a bunch sprint, meaning a sprinter could take the pink jersey. If
there’s ever been a moment for Bennett to re-discover his best, it is certainly
now.
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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