Prior to Zero, CyclingNews spoke to George Bennett about a chance to prove himself as a leader in a big round from his boss, Jumbo-Wisma. He is happy for that opportunity. “It’s very special to have a big round leader position on a team like Jumbo-Wisma, so I want to grab it with both hands.”
Still, the New Zealand champion has to do it less upwards with an assistant. The team replaced Chris Harper with sprinter Dylan Cronwegan. “The pressure on Tobias Foss and Cohen Bowman has been too much, but they are strong and they can handle it. I have a little less help, but there are more chances on stage with Dylan to win this Zero, that’s for sure.”
Bennett sees two obvious favorites for overall success. “There are a few great contenders for success: Simon Yates, Egan Bernal and even Michael Landa.”
He engages himself in a group of discoveries. “The team is huge. There are ten to fifteen riders who can finish fourth. Men like Hugh Karthi, Alexander Vlasov, Dan Martin, Pavel Sivakov and the DSM boys (Bartet, Hindley, Ed.).” Significantly, Bennett did not mention Remco Evnepoyal.
Bennett does not hide his ambition and wants to finish in front of that group. “I think the first five places are realistic for me, and that’s my goal. But you should not be too busy with it, because there’s a lot of uncertainty, because I did not finish the tour of the Basque country, I do not know exactly where I did. I stand with others, I do not drive much. “
“Introvert. Communicator. Tv fanatic. Typical coffee advocate. Proud music maven. Infuriatingly humble student.”
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