Bennett out for revenge in likely bunch sprint finish

March 11 ^th 2021 - 05:13

Sam Bennett had two days to reflect on his defeat in stage 2 of Paris-Nice, taking it easy in the individual time trial of stage 3 before letting the GC favourites battle it out on the hills of the Beaujolais wine region in stage 4. Now the Irishman, winner of stage 1 in St Cyr l’Ecole, is setting his views on a second stage victory in Bollene, probably the last chance of a bunch sprint finish in this edition.  “I will try to win Thursday as I was disappointed not to be up there in stage 2. The aim is to win another stage and the green jersey is not an objective for the moment,” he added. The Deceuninck-Quick Step sprinter, who already won four Paris-Nice stages, knows who to watch in the final stretch, starting with Dutchman Cees Bol (Team DSM), who took the laurels when he faltered on day 2. But 2019 world champion Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo), the most consistent finisher in this edition, will also be out for revenge, as will be Frenchmen Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) and Bryan Coquard (B&B Hotels). Michael Matthews (Bike Exchange) also showed splendid form since Sunday’s start but might have left a bit of energy in his attempt to stay up front in the Beaujolais hills on Wednesday. Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) was the other top five finisher in a bunch sprint on this Paris-Nice while Germany’s Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) and Pascal Ackerman (Bora-Hansgrohe) managed to 10 finishes but looked slightly below par thus far.