73kg vs. 59kg#ParijsNice pic.twitter.com/HqOhZEUvwr
— Daan van den Berg (@daanvandenberg) March 10, 2020
Sam Bennett was penalised after stage three of Paris-Nice for shoving 59kg climber Nairo Quintana.
Video from the stage shows the Irish sprinter was fighting for position during a chaotic final kilometre of stage three in central France, as he then shoves Arkéa-Samsic rider Quintana three times.
Bennett was riding on the right hand side of the peloton on the wheel of his Deceuninck – Quick-Step team-mate Bob Jungels, when he pushed Quintana on his left back towards the bunch.
The Colombian narrowly managed to avoid a crash as riders behind him were forced to take action to avoid an incident.
After the stage, the commissaire’s announced that Bennett had been fined 800 Swiss francs (around £600) and had 40 UCI classification points deducted for the incident.
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Bennett’s stage came to a premature end in the final few hundred metres, after Israel Start-Up Nation’s Hugo Hofstetter was forced to dismount at high speed at the front of the bunch, falling into Bennett who was forced into the barrier and went down hard.
The 29-year-old was able to cross the line two minutes after Iván García Cortina (Bahrain-McLaren) rode to victory, and needed four stitches in the fingers of his right hand after suffering a gash.
Bennett avoided any more serious injuries and plans to race on.
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He said: “I lost some skin and needed those stitches, because when I went into the barrier, I hit the metal part but luckily everything else seems okay.
“In the beginning I was lying on the road and there was a bit of a shock, as I had no idea how serious it was, but it’s a good thing nothing is broken.
“I will continue the race and start Wednesday’s individual time trial. I’m quite happy it will be a short stage tomorrow and I hope things will turn around for me at some point.”
