George Bennett finished 14th overall in the Criterium du Dauphiné today. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s climber took 19th in the final stage and moved up one spot. Stephen Cummings (Team Dimension Data) won the final stage and Chris Froome (Team Sky) the general classification.

“George Bennett improved a lot this week,” Sports Director Merijn Zeeman said. “He delivered a strong performance and we’re glad about that. This 14th place is a big step in the right direction for him and more than we expected as well. He was supported by Alexey Vermeulen for a long time today. Alexey is still very young and it’s great to see that he’s getting better. He delivered a strong race this week.”

Physical capabilities

The flat stages were not so kind to the team. “In the two stages that ended up in a bunch sprint, we were not present enough,” the sports director added. “We’re not satisfied with that and we have to develop that part. Moreno Hofland showed his physical capabilities, on the other hand. This was a hard Dauphiné and he came through it quite well.”