TOP 10 TOUR MOMENTS

SAM BENNETT’S TOUR TEARS

Refreshing and real. That sums up the emotion that poured out of Sam Bennett after he won stage 10 to Ilede-Ré. And just as he enlivened the green jersey battle by forcing Peter Sagan to fight for it for a change, his tears were the perfect antidote to the Slovak’s typically laconic post-race interviews.

The depth of Bennett’s emotion is indicative of how much the Tour de France still means to those who compete in it. After all, the Irishman, who joined the Deceuninck team this season, has already won stages in the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España.

But however many denigrate the Tour as having become too big, too commercial and perhaps too predictable, Bennett’s choked-up post-stage interview proves that this is still the one that matters.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be a crybaby,” he said. Don’t worry about it Sam, it’s part of what makes bike racing beautiful.