Viewers were full of praise for a 'humble' Sam Bennett tonight after the Tour de France green jersey winner appeared on the Late Late Show.
The Carrick-on-Suir star spoke to Ryan Tubridy after securing the points jersey in the famous race with a brilliant stage win on Paris' Champs Elysees last Sunday.
In the pinnacle of a decade-long career, the Irish sprinter won two stages in this year's race as he captured one of cycling's greatest accolades.
Just five days later, he was on hand to walk viewers through the dramatic win and the whirlwind week he's enjoyed since the triumph.
And fans were all saying the same thing about Bennett after the interview as he offered advice to young aspiring cyclists in Ireland while showing fans his new pried souvenir green jersey.
"What a humble guy," one fan said.
Another tweeted: "What a lovely guy @Sammmy_Be is and a credit to Ireland. Enjoy the time off and thanks for giving us a break from this Covid."
"Such a humble guy! Lovely to see his eyes light up with excitement! A great winner," another said.
One concluded: "Fantastic interview what a gent and what a victory. Thanks for lifting the whole nation during tough times."
Among all the praise the 29-year-old has received, few carries as much weight as the words of cycling legend Sean Kelly.
Speaking on RTE's Morning Ireland last week, Kelly paid tribute to Bennett: "It's unbelievable - just so great for cycling in Ireland.
"Sam, he has a huge amount of followers. And everybody in cycling, and outside of cycling, they've all got behind him. We've seen that on social media.
"It's amazing to see that he's won the green jersey, he's won two stages, and I'm just so happy for him because I had quite a lot of contact with him when he was in the An Post/Chain Reaction team.
"When you take somebody, and you try to take them along for a number of years, and you see him succeeding when he goes into the top ranks... it's just been a great tour.
"I think it's going to be really important for Irish cycling because now, with the exposure we're getting at home, the younger generation, I think, will get more into cycling, and that's what we need.
"The grassroots, we need to get more and more involved in the racing end. We've been lacking that, because of other other sports. Cycling Ireland will have to take advantage of this, and promote cycling a bit more.
"We will see the fruit of this, with more riders maybe in five or six years, because of the achievements of Sam Bennett in this Tour de France."
