Green dream dashed as Covid-19 forces Sam Bennett out of Vuelta

Sam Bennett's hopes of winning the green jersey at the Vuelta Espana have been dashed after he was forced to withdraw from the race ahead of the stage 10 time-trial due to Covid-19.

The Carrick-on-Suir man, who had sprinted to two stage victories already in the race and lay in second place in the points classification, becomes the 12th rider forced out of the Vuelta due to the virus.

"Sam returned a positive antigen test this morning, and also showed some symptoms. Therefore we decided that he wouldn’t start today’s stage," a Bora-Hansgrohe statement read this afternoon.

His compatriot and team-mate Ryan Mullen confirmed Bennett’s exit ahead of the 30.9km time trial from Elche to Alicante.

"It's a massive shame and Sam is going to be disappointed. He deserves to be here, he's put the work in, and he showed that he's back to his best," he said.

The winner of the 2020 Tour de France green jersey sat just five points off classification leader Mads Pedersen of Trek-Segafredo having held the jersey until stage eight.