Jumbo-Wisma sees Bennett wasting time: “Expected and not as expected”

Jumbo-Wisma sees Bennett losing time: “Expected and not expected”

Tuesday 11 May 2021 at 19:03

George Bennett was one of the losers on stage for the fourth Giro di Italia for Cestola. During the rainy season, Jumbo-Wisma leader Egan Bernal lost for almost a minute and a half to an elite group including Alexander Vlasov and Michael Landa. “It didn’t go as we expected,” says sports director Audi Engels.

“George was finally coping with the cold and it broke him,” Engels said. “Some digest better than others, but that’s not an excuse. We know we can not take it well from George.

The New Zealand champion is ranked 34th in the general rankings after four stages. The best classification ride, his break for Vlaso was 1.46 minutes. “This loss is a lot in such a climb, but on the other hand we started,” his sports director keeps the hope alive. “As we ‘ve seen in the last few weeks, a lot has changed in three weeks. There is no reason to change yet.”

Tobias Foss could not follow even the best climbers. He lost second place in the stages and is now 31 seconds, 28 seconds ahead of his leader Bennett.