When all your hard work goes down the drain.
Irish cyclist Sam Bennett was forced to withdraw from the Tour de France on Stage 17 after falling too far behind the main peloton and finding he had nothing in the tank to chase it down.
The Tipperary native cut a dejected figure as he packed his bags to go home last night.
VIDEO: Amazing GoPro footage from inside the peloton
Competing in his first tour, Bennett will not, now, get the chance to ride down the Champs Elysees for the final stage, on Sunday.
Before taking his leave from Le Tour, Bennett gave a remarkably honest interview with Stickybottle, in which he opened up about the pre-tour illness he staved off, his heartbreak at pulling out, and the sheer grind of the world’s toughest road race.
Got up from the breakfast table and automatically said 'good night' to everyone at the table…. i think im cooked.
— Sam Bennett (@Sammmy_Be) July 16, 2015
He said, ‘I had shit preparation and zero condition. I was getting it hard on the first day and on day five I thought I was gone. But I kept fighting each day, I kept going… I wanted to harden myself and the thought of being a better rider is what kept me going.’ He added:
‘Four or five days ago I started urinating blood because I was throwing the bike around so much trying to hang on and I damaged something.
‘That was one problem and then yesterday I got a really bad virus and was in bed with all my clothes on under the quilt in 30 degree heat and I just slept 18 hours. I couldn’t even walk down to the dinner table I was so f*****d yesterday… [but] I said we’d go again, I got everything ready, tried to stay positive. But I was fighting from kilometre zero. I wanted to keep going but the body wouldn’t let me.’
The 24-year-old will turn his attention to recovering from his gruelling Tour de France debut but admits his sport can be “cruel”.
Fans of cycling, or those that doubt the commitment of many of the riders taking part should have a read of the full interview here.
