George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) underwent surgery three weeks ago to end a long-standing affliction that has hampered his cycling career. The New Zealand rider had been suffering from side stitches for several years and had been diagnosed with rib slip syndrome. The condition means that every time Bennett pushes himself in a race, he is forced to back off due to a stabbing pain in his chest. At the recent Rouleur Classic in London, where the Jumbo Visma rider introduced his bike storage brand Velohawk, Bennett showed off the scars from his recent surgery.

"I had major surgery a couple of weeks ago, I had major surgery a couple of weeks ago, and I've been working on it for a couple of years now. I hope that helps. ......" He told Cycling News. Every time I ride hard, I get a stabbing pain in my side. The surgery was a pretty drastic measure, they practically had to remove three ribs. When I say that, it sounds worse than it really is, but each one is about 8 cm long and made of cartilage."

Bennett was discharged from the hospital the day after his surgery, but he has not yet recovered the health necessary to jump on a motorcycle. However, the 29-year-old Bennett hopes to return to training in the coming weeks.

"I've had a couple of surgeries before, and I've had some tests done to try to get the stitches fixed. I've had a few surgeries before with a lot of optimism, but they didn't work out.

The decision to have surgery was not a light one for Bennett.

"For me, I love cycling and it's an easy job. I have no trouble finding my passion, but it's unsustainable if every time I ride hard I feel like I have a knife in my stomach."

"I'm not a cyclist.

"I discussed this with my family and girlfriend and decided that my career is not even half over and my best season is yet to come. I want to make the most of it. If this works out, it will open more doors for me. I'm pulling back in training as well as racing.

Assuming Bennett can return to training in the coming weeks, the Kiwi has an important offseason ahead. For Bennett, the 2019 campaign was far from a disaster, with both the Tour de France and Vuelta a España playing important super-domestic roles.

In the Tour, he helped the team to a third-place finish, and in the Vuelta, he battled illness to cement his place as the team's best rider. His best individual result, however, was a fourth-place finish at the Tour of California.

Primoš Roglic won the Vuelta, and Steven Kruijswijk was third in the Tour de France.

However, if the surgery is successful, he could be in the same form as he was at the 2018 Giro d'Italia, where he finished eighth overall. Nevertheless, his opportunities in the Grand Tours will be limited, and with the Tour of California off the calendar, he may need to reorganize his program to find his own opportunities.

"The loss of California puts a spanner in the works, and with the current team it's up to me," Bennett replied when asked about his goals for next year.

"Maybe I'll be in the Tour Down Under, but I have to adapt, and if I want to have a chance with this team now, I need to go for races where Steven, Primosch, and Tom are not racing. I can't go to the Grand Tours. I know that. They deserve it and I like the best athletes to get the best support."

"I feel like I went out a little empty-handed this year. It wasn't bad, but it was frustrating at times. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but at the Tour, for example, I was at a really good level, and it was great to be part of the team and finish third.

"It was the same in the Vuelta. I was sick and crashed a few times, but I was still happy to be part of the team that won. It was great, but I finished without any breakthroughs of my own."

In 2020, opportunities may be hard to come by, but if Bennett's surgery goes as planned, that in itself would represent a breakthrough.

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Bennett later posted a response to the article on Twitter, downplaying the surgery.