Italy's Daniele Bennati has emerged as one of the best sprinters in the world despite being dogged by illness and injuries in recent years.
From Arezzo in the heart of Tuscany, Bennati turned professional at just 21 and learnt the secrets of professional sprinting as part of Mario Cipollini's lead out train. He won his first race at the Tour of Austria in the summer of 2002 and has now has over 30 races in his palmares.
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Bennati went on to add quality to quantity in 2007 when he won two stages at the Tour de France, including the last sprint on the Champs Elysees. He also won the sprint in Madrid at the end of the Vuelta Espana, where he won two other stages. He has also showed some talent for the cobbled classics. He was third in the 2005 edition of Ghent-Wevelgem and teamed up with Alessandro Ballan in several classics while riding at Lampre.
Bennati moved to Liquigas in 2008 but a knee and ligament problem meant he did not race until late April. He went up against Mark Cavendish in the Giro d'Italia sprints; Bennati won three stages to Cavendish's two and took the point's jersey but the young Manxman was slightly faster in the head to head sprints.
Bennati missed the Tour de France with an Achilles heel problem but won a stage at the Vuelta Espana and wore the leader's jersey after Liquigas won the opening TTT.
Despite having to fight for position in the adrenaline-fuelled sprints, Bennati is actually one of the nicest riders in the peloton and would not hurt a fly. He let Mark Cavendish come through a gap against the barriers in a sprint in the 2008 Giro d'Italia and openly talks about being religious and honest.
With Filippo Pozzato joining Katusha, Bennati became the protected sprinter and classics leader at Liquigas in 2009. He took on Cavendish again at the centenary Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, but failed to win a stage.
Signing for the newly-former Leopard- Trek team in 2011, he finished 3rd overall at the Tour of Qatar.
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Daniele Bennati results
2010
Tirreno-Adriatico; stage three
Tour of Oman; stage two
2009
Tour of Majorca; stage three
Giro di Sardegna; overall
Giro di Sardegna; stage four
Giro di Sardegna; points classification
Giro della Provincia di Grosseto; stage one
2008
Giro d'Italia; stage three
Giro d'Italia; stage nine
Giro d'Italia; stage 12
Giro d'Italia; points jersey
Vuelta a Espana; stage one (TTT)
Vuelta a Espana; stage four
Tour of Romandie; stage five
Eneco Tour; stage three
Giro del Piemonte
2007
Tour de France: stage 17
Tour de France; stage 20
Vuelta a Espana; stage one
Vuelta a Espana; stage 17
Vuelta a Espana; stage 21
Tour of the Mediterranean; stage two
Vuelta Valenciana; stage one
Vuelta Valenciana; stage three
Vuelta Valenciana; stage five
Three Days of La Panne; stage two
2006
Tour of Switzerland; stage seven
Tour of Poland; stage two
Tour of Poland; stage four
Vuelta Valenciana; stage five
Giro del Trentino: stage four
Giro del Piemonte
GP Citta di Misano
GP Prato
Memorial Pantani
2005
Tour of Poland; stage two and four
Tour of Germany; stage three
Tour of Germany; stage five
Tour of Germany; stage nine
Giro della Toscana
2003
Tour of Poland; stage three
Tour of the Mediterranean; stage five
2002
Tour of Austria; stage one
Regio Tour; stage five
Daniele Bennati photos
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