What a difference two days make. After the disappointment of not finishing in a sprint finish at Sunday's Schwalbe Classic, new Dečuninck-Quick Step sprinter Sam Bennett opened the 2020 season with the Belgian WorldTour team on Tuesday.
Bennett held off the blistering speed of Jasper Philippsen (UAE Team Emirates), with Erik Baska (Bora-Hansgrohe) in third place. Elia Viviani (Cofidis) was a few lengths back in fourth, but Bennett, the new lead sprinter for Dečuninck-Quickstep, was happy to quickly shake off the expectations and pressure.
"I'm happy," Bennett told reporters after receiving the ochre jersey as the first leader in this year's Tour Down Under. I was feeling a lot of pressure today, so I'm really happy to get the jersey early."
"The only mistake I made: but this win was definitely a team effort. The lead-out was perfect. They did a perfect job of setting the pace early on and controlling the front.
"I think the team had more confidence in me than I did in myself," the Irishman said with a smile.
"Their run today was really amazing and it gave me a lot of confidence to see how much effort they put in to get this result.
Bennett could make it two wins in a row on Wednesday's second stage, an uphill finish in Stirling, which the 29-year-old said he would "definitely challenge."
"I feel more confident today, but it's still early in the season and I need to be in better shape. But I'd like to get to the top somehow. But I'd like to somehow make it to the top."
"If we don't make it, we can try again the next day. Bennett laughed. Thursday's third stage is a hilly stage with the final climb to Paracombe in the Adelaide Hills, but "as a team we'll keep going.
Bennett noted that four of the seven team members competing in the Tour Down Under, including himself, are new from 2020, but said the team's self-described "Wolfpack" mentality exists and is the right one regardless.
"I think we have a total of 11 new riders on the team this year, and today we have four of them.
"I can't say it was easy to get into the sprint train, but we have a lot of experienced riders on the team.
"The whole team did a great job," Bennett continued. Shane Archibald's super long time in the closing stages was perfect for Morkoff to reel him back in." As a result, it was perfect for Morkov to reel them in. But it was a great effort from everyone on the team today."
Another new member of the team, New Zealander Archibald, agreed with his good friend Bennett that the win would only give the team more confidence for the rest of the week.
"Sometimes the first win can wait until April," he said.
"It's a big stress for me and for Sam. Now we can calm down a bit and look forward to the next stage."
"The team was always happy for us to see how the sprint train worked.
"But all sprinters are the same. Once you get that first win, then the confidence comes. Sam knows he is the fastest after last year, or one of the fastest in the peloton, and now he knows he is the fastest in this race.
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