When David Millar took over as fastest finisher in the stage 3 time trial at the Circuit Cycliste Sarthe on Wednesday afternoon, there was a sense that the winner had been found. The Scottish rider has taken many such victories during his career, and in beating Garmin-Cervélo team-mate Dave Zabriskie, many felt that he had overcome the biggest obstacle to the stage win.
Someone forgot to tell Daniele Bennati. Far better known as a sprinter, the Italian produced a stunning time trial to cover the 6.8 kilometre distance in eight minutes 13 seconds. The Leopard Trek rider decisively beat Millar and Zabriskie, who were both six seconds slower.
In doing so, he fortified his lead at the top of the general classification.
“I am overwhelmed with winning a time trial,” he said afterwards. “This is something I have never done in my career, and it is an extra special to have won while wearing the leader’s jersey.
“I had a lot of adrenaline, and I managed to give it full gas from start,” explains Bennati. “When I crossed the finish line, I saw the screen and knew I had won. It was a fantastic feeling.”
There was an hint of revenge in the victory, as he was still smarting from being beaten by Millar’s team-mate Michael Kreder in the morning road stage. Bennati looked set to take his second stage in succession, but the Dutchman edged by just before the line, landing his first pro win.
That defeat was used as fuel for the time trial. “I was angry and agitated from the second place finish this morning,” Bennati explained. “It set a fire in me to do well this afternoon. I was determined to have a good ride.”
Directeur sportif Luca Guercilena admitted that he was surprised by the outcome. “Normally, our goal would be not too lose too much time on specialists like Millar and Zabriskie,” he stated. “But while Bennati was out on the course, we saw kilometre by kilometre that was he doing really well. We knew in the final kilometre, he could really do it, so we pushed him to go harder. He gave it everything. We’re very happy and proud.”
The Italian now holds a commanding sixteen second advantage over the Garmin-Cervélo duo, with Anthony Roux (FDJ) a further second back in fourth place.
Two stages remain in the 2.1-ranked event; on Thursday the riders will race 181.1 kilometres between Angers and Pre-en-Pail, then the race will conclude with a 166.7 kilometre leg to Bonnetable.
Bennati now has a chance to take the second overall stage race victory for Leopard Trek, following on from Frank Scheck’s win in Criterium International.