For Irish fans, the absence of 2020 green jersey winner Sam Bennett takes away a fair whack of intrigue from this year's Tour de France.
The Tipperary man won the green jersey as well as two stages on the 2020 Tour, but will be absent for a second consecutive year after his team Bora-hansgrohe chose to go with Russian cyclist Aleksandr Vlasov instead of Bennett.
In an interview on Saturday morning, Sam Bennett's coach revealed that the decision came from his team's desire to fight for the coveted yellow jersey at this year's Tour de France.
Yellow jersey chase to blame for Sam Bennett Tour de France absence
Dan Lorang, Sam Bennett's coach, spoke to the Irish Times on Saturday. He explained why Bennett's Bora-hansgrohe team went with Russian cyclist Aleksandr Vlasov instead of the Irishman for this year's Tour de France.
Basically, we saw that Alex is in really good shape this season. The races he won and also, for example, the Tour de Suisse…before he had to go out of the race [with COVID], he really showed that he’s up there.
We see a high potential to go for a podium here in the Tour de France, and the Tour de France is the biggest race of the year. Sometimes you have to grab opportunities when they are there. That’s why we decided, okay, let’s try to go for that.
Lorang said that Vlasov's pace has surprised the team, in what is his debut season with the team. He was in the lead of the Tour de Suisse before contracting COVID-19, and his team believe he can fight for a podium in the general classification.
The general classification is considered the most important classification in the Tour de France, and the yellow jersey is handed out to the winner - the cyclist with the overall best time.
The green jersey which Bennett won in 2020 is a separate classification, awarded to the cyclist with the most points won in stage finishes and in intermediate sprints.
The absence of Sam Bennett from the 2022 Tour is a shame for Irish fans, and the pressure is now on Vlasov to deliver a strong general classification finish for his team.
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