Tour absence a major blow for Bennett says Kimmage

Paul Kimmage believes that Sam Bennett's absence from the Tour de France for the third successive year will have a serious negative impact on his career.

The 32-year-old was a surprise absentee from the Bora-Hansgrohe team for the 2023 edition of cycling’s biggest event.

The German team opted instead to name Jordi Meeus as their sprint option and that means Bennett will again miss the Tour, having won the points classification green jersey the last time he competed in 2020.

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 - and Kimmage says that Bennett's absence is a major career setback.

"The Tour de France is the shop window, you’ve really got to put yourself there in terms of your contract," he said.

"Your contract is based on riding the Tours and it’s the biggest race in the world, so if you’re not riding it then you know it's you're going in the wrong direction.

"This is going to really hurt Sam in particular, because he's not getting any younger. It's two years I think now since he had won the green jersey there. So going to be tough for him, very tough.

"It’s win or go home and you know there's only eight places on the team and he didn't make that cut, so it's going to be very, very difficult for him. The next few weeks is going to be very difficult for him."

Kimmage was speaking to RTÉ Sport at the ceremony to celebrate the unveiling of a commemorative plaque celebrating cyclist Shay Elliott, the first Irishman to win a stage in the Tour de France.

While there won’t be any Irish representatives at this year’s Tour, Kimmage is optimistic for the future with some impressive rising starts looking ready to stake their claims next