Tipperary cyclist Sam Bennett finishes third on fifth stage of UAE Tour
Carrick-on-Suir man on the comeback trail following knee injury
Sam Bennett finished third on the fifth stage of the UAE Tour today.
Competing in his first event of the season, and his first stage race since last May, the Bora-Hansgrohe cyclist shaped impressively towards the end of the race but the first stage winner Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) overtook him.
Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) was also able to get past him closer to the finish line, leaving Bennett in third place.
He will have another chance to make an impression in Friday's penultimate stage, a flat 180 kilometre race to Expo 2020 Dubai, which is again set to end in a bunch sprint.
The Carrick-on-Suir cyclist is on the recovery trail from a knee injury that he suffered last June, and which caused him to miss a large chunk of racing and training.
The UAE Tour concludes on Saturday with an uphill finish at Jebel Hafeet.