George Bennett finished 33rd in the hard-fought sixth stage of the Vuelta a Espana today. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s New Zealander ended up in a group that sprinted for the eighth place. Stage winner Simon Yates (Orica - BikeExchange) rode solo ahead by 29 seconds.

“The atmosphere in the team wasn’t so bad this morning,” Sports Director Addy Engels said the day after Steven Kruijswijk abandoned the race with a broken collarbone. “The guys were motivated to make the most of it.

“It was a very hard day and the way they raced was the main reason for it. Only George Bennett managed to survive. Robert Gesink was in the front for a long time, but he let go in the end. He is here to improve and show something beautiful in the final week.”

Morale

Bennett agreed, it was a tough stage through northwest Spain. “It wasn’t a good day to be in the break, so I tried to race from the peloton and keep the team’s morale high after a really bad day yesterday,” he added. “I didn’t get the win today, but I felt great on the bike, so I’m keeping my options open for the rest of the race.”