Sam Bennett misses out on Tour de France selection

Ireland's Sam Bennett has been left out of the Bora-Hansgrohe's team for the 2023 Tour de France.

It's the second successive year that Bora-Hansgrohe have passed over Bennett for cycling's most prestigious race.

The German team have opted for Jordi Meeus as their sprint option and while they are to still name the final member of their eight-man team, they confirmed the last man in will be a climber, ruling out Bennett.

The decision comes as a surprise as only two weeks ago, Bora-hansgrohe head of performance Dan Lorang had all but confirmed Bennett's place in the team for France.

Speaking at the Critérium du Dauphiné in France Lorang told the Irish Times: "All is fine with Sam. When Sam stays healthy and will not have a big crack [drop in form] in the Dauphiné, he will be part of the Tour team."

Bennett's future at Bora-Hansgrohe is now in question and speculation is linking Australia's Sam Welsford with the team as a possible replacement.

With Bennett absent from the Tour de France, his lead out man and fellow Irish rider Ryan Mullen also misses out while Eddie Dunbar and Ben Healy continue to recover from the Giro d'Italia exertions and are not expected to take part, meaning there will be no Irish competitor at Le Tour this year.