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You can’t let a ‘DNF’ spoil the day. George Bennett was poised for a good result at the Tour in 2017 but illness has forced him to abandon.
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He had been as well positioned as ninth on GC, after 12 days of racing, and it was looking like George Bennett could have held his place in the top 10. It’s not to be. Around the 60km mark of stage 16, he conceded to illness and abandoned his second Tour de France.
The winner of the 2017 edition of the Tour of California had been climbing with the best in the race but after the second rest day his race and come to an end.
He can cope with the rapid pace, extreme heat, strong winds, steep roads… but “a bug” took its toll.
He’s young. He’ll be back and he’ll make an even bigger impression when he next gets to race Le Tour.
Bennett has, however, been prompting New Zealanders to stay up late (very late – yes, even later than the Aussie #CouchPeloton). He’s a rider who dared attack Chris Froome on a climb and he had the support of a team that was doing all it could to support his quest for a good overall result one year on from his 59th in the Tour, and 10th place in the Vuelta a España.
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The 13th stage took its toll on George Bennett… he dropped out of the top 10 on GC that day.
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“Swings and roundabouts,” he sighed while cooling down after stage 13 when he was (finally) dropped by Froome et al.
He looked deflated by what happened on the road to Foix. That was the beginning of the end of his run of good form and even though he lost time, there was still reason for Kiwi fans to be optimistic about a good result. But sickness would ultimately force him out.
Before the rest day, he believed it was possible to continue having an impact on the race. Even in Foix he declared his intentions. Is there gusto in those legs? I asked: is there any hope of coming back in the Alps and having a crack at a stage win?
“Yeah, definitely,” he said, grinning. “I’ve got plenty left.”
And then he conjured a few sayings that made him laugh while he finished off the session on the home trainer.
“You can have your bad days. Worse things happen at sea.”
He kept on pedalling and smiling and he wouldn’t be drawn into saying he was upset. He wasn’t. It’s been an amazing year for Bennett. In the past few months, he’s finished top 10 in a Grand Tour, won a WorldTour stage race, and demonstrated that he can climb with the best in the world.
“Anymore clichés you can think of that I can give you?” he asked.
How about: you’ve got to take the good with the bad… or something like that?
He laughed and unclipped from the pedals. The stage was over. It was time to consider the next. And the next and the next… etc.
It’s not to be. George Bennett is the 24th abandon of Le Tour 2017.
There’ll be a few more in the coming days. For now, we give a nod to the 27-year-old and recognise that he’s a GC rider of the future. His team has a new sponsor, his contract is said to be in order for the next few years, and his fan base is growing. It’s a shame he didn’t get to finish but it’s been fun while it lasted.
We’ll get an update from him in the next little while and find out if the Vuelta is in his sights. As he says, “I’ve got plenty left.”
– By Rob Arnold
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