Sam Bennett faces one of the most important periods of his young career so far when he tackles the National Road Race Championships in Dunboyne on Sunday, and then travels straight to Belgium for the European Under 23 Road Race Championships on the following weekend. He then flies south to Marseille to open a new chapter in his career with the top French amateur team Velo Club La Pomme Marseille. 
Martin O’ Loughlin, Sam Bennett & Sean Downey unveiling their new colours, Tommy Evans and Frederic Rostaing of VC La Pomme in Aigle, Switzerland.
Meanwhile, his coach Martin O’ Loughlin bids to claim the All-Ireland Veterans title for the third consecutive year, while the Carrick Wheelers’ Vets Team aim for the All Ireland team title for an unprecedented sixth year in a row. The action commences on Saturday in Dunboyne with the Vets race contested over 104kms. The undulating circuit is not as difficult as in 2007 and 2008, so O’ Loughlin might have his work cut out in attempting to defend his title. However, club mate Rory Wyley, last year’s silver medalist, is in exceptional form at the moment, making the podium in Camross, Broadford and Whitechurch in recent weeks, so the Carrick boys have more than one ace to play. Leslie O’ Donnell has been a member of all five winning teams. A change in his training this year has reaped huge dividends with his climbing strengthened in particular. The ever-reliable Sean McIlroy, who took the individual gold in 1999 is backed up by the rejuvenated Kieran Smith, who will relish the opportunity for a bunch sprint. Onto Sunday where the elite riders face a much flatter course than the one used on Saturday. It is a very long time since such a flat course was used for a National Championships. Clearly, the professional riders will have to inject considerable pace to shake off the home-based riders. In fact, there is talk of national champion Daniel Martin not defending the title as the course does not suit a climber, and he starts the Tour de France on the following Saturday. Definitely on the start line will be 18 year old Sam Bennett, who has two targets in the race. Should an under 23 rider finish in the top 3, he will qualify for both the under 23 and senior medals. Sam had a rest after his exploits in the FBD Insurance Ras and competed twice in England two weeks ago, taking a fifth placing in Newcastle against the best of the English professionals. On Sunday, he became the first rider to win the John Drumm Memorial race in Currow three years in a row. It’s a tall order for Bennett to deliver at such a young age, but if he’s in the leading group on the last lap, he’ll take beating up the 240m straight from the last corner to the finish line. Dan Morrissey Carrick Wheelers have no less than eight riders in the race, so a big team effort can be expected on the day. John Dempsey, Kevin Shelly and Mark Power have come out of the Ras with great legs and can be expected to feature prominently during the 168km event. Joe Fenlon, Cathal McCarthy, Michael Fitzgerald and John O’ Brien will give their all to deliver the coveted team prize for our club. Win, lose or draw, Sam won’t have much time to dwell on the result as he flies with his Irish team mates to the European Championships early the next morning. This will be a classic Belgian race starting in Ostende, coping with the crosswinds of the coast road before cutting inland to the Bergzone where three cobbled climbs including the feared Kemmelberg must be tackled. The race finishes with four laps of a tough finishing circuit with an uphill finish. It is quite common for all of the top ten finishers to sign professional contracts, so Sam will have to be at his very best to compete with the super strong Belgians, Germans and Russians. Martin O’ Loughlin will travel as assistant manager and trainer to the team. He will take the riders training on the course on three days during the week, so that they know the roads intimately before the race day. A day later, Sam Bennett will arrive in Marseille. VC La Pomme are the top French amateur team. No less than 23 of their riders have turned professional in the last few years including Nicolas Roche, Philip Deignan, Daniel Martin and reigning Under 23 World Champion Fabio Duarte. Under the legendary Directeur Sportif Frederic Rostaing, Sam can expect a comprehensive education in all things cycling. All in Carrick Wheelers are proud of his achievements so far and wish him bonne chance in everything he does in the future.
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