Sam Bennett’s long-anticipated return to Bora-Hansgrohe from Deceuninck-QuickStep has been confirmed with the Irish sprinter signing a two-year contract with the German team.
The deal completes a transfer saga which has rumbled on for several weeks as Bennett underwent an acrimonious split from the “dream team” he had been so determined to join from Bora-Hansgrohe just two years ago.
But Bennett, 30, said he was returning home in signing for the team with which he turned professional in 2015.
“I have enjoyed two great years at Deceuninck-QuickStep, my boyhood dream team, and have continued my development both on and off the bike whilst making lifelong friendships,” he said.
“However, I feel ready to go back home to be the team leader that I want to be, and know Bora-Hansgrohe also wants me to be.”
Two years ago, Deceuninck-QuickStep fought to extricate Bennett from a pre-contract agreement with Bora-Hansgrohe that the rider, frustrated to play second fiddle to Peter Sagan, regretted entering.
The move paid off during the pandemic-hit season as Bennett won his first Tour de France stages and unexpectedly beat Sagan in the points classification to take the green jersey.
But things have soured remarkably this term. Patrick Lefevere publicly criticised Bennett when he pulled out of consideration for this year’s Tour citing a knee injury – a move which opened the door for Mark Cavendish’s return to the race and his remarkable comeback with four stage wins.
Lefevere has courted controversy again this week, effectively confirming Bennett’s move in a newspaper column in which he appeared to make light of domestic abuse.
“For me (Bennett is) the pinnacle of mental weakness,” Lefevere wrote in Het Nieuwsblad. “Leaving Bora and moaning to everybody about how he was ‘bullied’ and almost broke and depressed. Only to return 14 months later. It’s the same as women who still return home after domestic abuse.”
With Sagan leaving Bora-Hansgrohe at the end of the season, Bennett now stands to spearhead a new-look sprint team, with two-year contracts also announced for Danny Van Poppel, Shane Archbold and Ryan Mullen.
