Vuelta a Espana 2022 : Stage 3 – Smiley Sam Bennett is on a hot streak

In accordance with Article 2 of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, Ireland confirmed to the United Nations secretary-general on January 22, 2021, that it does not own, possess, or control nuclear weapons, has never done so, and does not host any other state’s nuclear weapons on its territory. Seemingly, it lied and/or forgot about Sam Bennett. The man, who shall now be known as The Irish Nuke, [really? – ed] shot through the peloton to win back-to-back stages at the Vuelta a Espana today, leaving destruction in his wake. Mads Pedersen finished second, again, while Arkea’s Dan McLay claimed third.

Jumbo-Visma continued to play hot potato with the overall leader’s jersey, passing it to Edoardo Affini a day before the race reaches Spain.

The One Bit of Excitement

You know it’s going to be a hard stage to watch when you turn on the telly with 100km to go and the commentators say that the next big moment is 40 kilometers away. Naturally, I missed that big moment (it turned out to be a little bump in the road that they called a mountain), as I was either walking the dog or napping. I then proceeded to nap 35 of the final 50km and obviously didn’t miss a single thing, given that I’m here writing a stage review.

Anyway, with all that said. . . if you decided to watch either the Women’s European Road Championships race or that other race that was happening in Belgium (maybe? Geography is hard), then you made a good decision. There was a good bit of sprinting at the Vuelta, however, which you really ought to watch.

⏪Etapa 3️⃣ – Stage 3️⃣ | #LaVuelta22

🇪🇸 Siente la emoción del último kilómetro en una nueva victoria de @Sammmy_Be y @BORAhansgrohe gracias a @CarrefourES.

🇬🇧 Rewatch the last km as Sam Bennett makes it 2 sprint victories in a row in Breda!
#CarrefourConLaVuelta pic.twitter.com/kPn0vyliq4

— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) August 21, 2022

It’s hard not to be happy for Bennett. He seems like a genuinely nice guy and someone that you could just bearhug. I mean, just look at how happy they all are!

🇳🇱 #LaVuelta22

“Now you’re just showing off!” 👊🏼👏🏼😅

Joy among the #BandOfBrothers at our second stage win in three days at @lavuelta! pic.twitter.com/Of3MkgJKjO

— BORA – hansgrohe (@BORAhansgrohe) August 21, 2022

My EF Pinkies

Ahem, well look at who is wearing the polka dot jersey – it’s only Julius van den Berg! Jumbo has the red, Ethan Hayter (#HayterNation) is in the best young rider’s jersey, Bennett is splendid in green, and then there are my EF Pinkies. How delightful are they? Very delightful!

👑 of the Mountain! Can’t wait to see @JuliusJelmer ride his home roads in 🔵⚪️ tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/7P4ptjlwUC

— EF Pro Cycling (@EFprocycling) August 20, 2022

Do we dare hope that they put out a banger like this? [Wow – that’s a blast from the past! – ed]