Sam Bennett celebrates his first victory in almost a year at the Eschborn-Frankfurt one-day race

Ireland’s Sam Bennett claimed his first win in almost a year this afternoon as he sprinted to victory in the Eschborn-Frankfurt one-day race.

It’s also the Carrick-on-Suir Fastman’s first race win since his return to Team Bora-Hansgrohe following his acrimonious exit from Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl in 2021.

Bennett took the win after 185km of racing ahead of Fernando Gaviria (second) and Alexander Kristoff (third) after being expertly put through the final 200 meters by Dutch teammate Danny Van Poppel.

Bennett last celebrated a win on May 7 last year when he clinched the second of two stage wins at the Volta ao Algarve but subsequently sustained a knee injury that forced him to miss the Tour de France and a public dispute with QuickStep boss Patrick Lefevere led.

The 31-year-old had shown signs of improving his form at last month’s Tour of Turkey but is taking a big step forward in preparation for this year’s Tour de France by returning to the top step of the podium after qualifying prevailed against a strong field of sprinters.