A name that most people will know in the South East of Ireland, Sam Bennett has been a staple in the cycling world over the past number of years.
The Carrick-On-Suir man became one of the few Irish cyclists, including fellow South East man Sean Kelly, to earn the green jersey at Tour De France.
Who is Sam Bennett?
Sam Bennett was born in Belgium on 16th October 1990 but grew up in Carrick-On-Suir in the South East of Ireland.
He studied for a year at Waterford Institute of Technology before being head-hunted by Vélo-Club La Pomme Marseille.
He moved to France after completing one year at W.I.T and in 2009, rode the Rás Tailteann with the Carrick Wheelers.
The road sprinter turned professional in 2011 as rode as part of the An Post- Sean Kelly team.
What is the Tour De France Green jersey and what does it mean?
The green jersey is awarded to the cyclist who claims the top spot on the points classification leaderboard.
The points at Tour De France level are awarded to riders for the position they finish on after each stage with extra points awarded for certain sprint sessions.
The winner of the green jersey at Tour De France receives €25 thousand euro as well as €300 for each day he wore the jersey.
Now that is what you call a HAPPY rider!! 😄
Here's how @Sammmy_Be celebrated his sprint victory along the Champs-Élysées AND wrapped up the #TDF2020 green jersey for @deceuninck_qst 👏.
Where do you think he ranks in the list of the best sprinters over the last 10 years? pic.twitter.com/V68uZ1SqPR— Velon CC (@VelonCC) September 20, 2020
Meanwhile, the winner of the yellow jersey receives €500 thousand euro and €500 per day for each day he wore it.
Bennett claimed the green jersey in the 2020 Tour De France and explained that he had never even dreamed of a moment like that.
"I just want to thank everyone that has been involved, the whole team, Patrick for giving me this opportunity and just everybody it took to get to here.
"I want to thank my wife, everyone around me.
"You dream of it, you never think it’ll happen. It did and, I don’t know, it took for a while to hit me."
Is Sam Bennett married?
Sam Bennett got married in November 2019 to fellow athlete Tara Fogarty.
Bennet posted about his marriage on Instagram calling it his win of the decade.
Tara took to Twitter in France upon seeing her husband win the green jersey.
Somebody fu*king pinch me. This can't be real pic.twitter.com/PNI6lYhbCz
— Tara Bennett (@Tee4Tara) September 20, 2020
