Cycling news - Sam Bennett: ‘I came here to win — I want more stages’

Sprinter Sam Bennett always seems to make the most of his opportunities when Bora-Hansgrohe teammate — and three-time world road race champion — Peter Sagan is not around. The 27-year-old Belgium-born Irishman doubled up with back-to-back stage wins at the Presidential Tour of Turkey in Marmaris on Thursday, which is his sixth total in two years at the six-day UCI WorldTour race, including last year’s finish on the Mediterranean coastal city as well.

“I knew it suited me because I won last year and I thought it would be less aggressive because it’s four more [kilometres] to the finish from the top, so the guys don't have to be so aggressive,” Bennett told Eurosport at the conclusion of the hilly 137.5 Stage 3 race from Fethiye. “There’s more WorldTour teams here, but I thought maybe I could do it, so I’m happy with the result in the end.”

However that may not be enough for Bennett, who claimed in the post-race pressure he is on the hunt for more victories as the 2018 season begins to close.

“I came here to win,” he said, also admitting he is 2kg heavier and stronger than last year’s race. “I don’t mean it to sound arrogant but I have high expectations of what I can achieve and I want more stages.”

Despite facing the first mountain stage of the race on Friday with a gnarly atégorie 1 inside the first 40km, as well as an uphill finish at the end of 206.9km, the current race leader still has his sights set on yet another possible victory.

“Looking at tomorrow I probably can’t win, but it isn’t a particularly long climb at the end, it is quite short one and I already have a few seconds on a few of the GC guys,” explained Bennett, who has a 10-second lead on Stage 1 winner and Stage 3 runner up Max Richeze (Quick-Step Floors) and 26 seconds over Diego Ulissi (UAE-Team Emirates), who won the Selçuk stage last year en route to the general classification win. “So maybe I can afford to lose a little bit of time and be up there still for the overall.

“I will have to talk to the team and see what the plan is because we have a few options for the GC and I can’t be too greedy.”

Bennett finished second to last on the Selçuk stage last year at 14 minutes 59 seconds adrift to surrender the turquoise leader’s jersey to Ulissi.