Sunday's opening stage of the UAE Tour in Madinat Zayed brought with it the biggest sprint showdown of this still-young season, with Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) taking the early spoils from a star-packed field.
Even with Caleb Ewan and Fernando Gaviria not racing, the Belgian still had to get past the likes of Mark Cavendish, Pascal Ackermann, Dylan Groenewegen, Elia Viviani, Arnaud Démare, and Sam Bennett to raise his arms at the end of the 184-kilometre stage.
It was Bennett who ran him closest at the end of what was a largely quiet day on the road, the Irishman marking his second debut with Bora-Hansgrohe with a second-placed finish, getting the better of Viviani to claim the title of 'best of the rest'.
Speaking after the stage, Bennett said that he and his team can be really pleased with how the day went, even if his first day back racing for the German squad wasn't a victorious one.
"Because my form isn't quite at 100 per cent yet, we didn't have such high expectations today," he said. "Our goal was to work on our lead out and learn how to best ride together."
Bora-Hansgrohe were notable in how late their squad left it to move up to the front of the peloton. The team could be seen hanging right at the rear of the peloton well into the final 10 kilometres, and they only moved up to the front as the riders charged under the flamme rouge.
"We took a bit of a risk, and started the lead out late," Bennett said. "But it worked out very well in the end. The guys did a great job in a stressful situation, and this performance is of course very confidence-boosting for us.
"I think our performances will only get better from here. We can be really pleased with how things went today. Thanks again to the team for their amazing work and for putting their trust in me."
Bennett will have several more chances to grab top spot on the podium throughout the week-long UAE Tour, with three more flat stages likely to offer up prime finishes for bunch sprints. The 31-year-old has taken three wins at the race in the past, including two stages last year, and team directeur sportif Rolf Aldag said that the fight for another victory starts again on Monday's second stage.
"There were extreme wind conditions today, which meant we had headwind on the way out and tailwind on the way back, without much crosswind," he said.
"In principle, the idea was to go for a sprint with Sam and come into the finale a little later, so to wait and come from behind with momentum. Of course, that entails a certain element of risk, but it ultimately worked out quite well.
"We're really pleased with the result and can certainly build this performance of ours today. Tomorrow is another sprint stage and we'll be trying again for a result there."
