Daniele Bennati facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Daniele Bennati

Bennati at the 2015 Tour de France
Personal information
Full name	Daniele Bennati
Nickname	Benna
Born	(1980-09-24) 24 September 1980 (age 44) Arezzo, Italy
Height	1.84 m (6 ft +1⁄2 in)
Weight	73 kg (161 lb; 11 st 7 lb)
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Sprinter
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France 2 individual stages (2007) Giro d'Italia Points classification (2008) 3 individual stages (2008) Vuelta a España Points classification (2007) 6 individual stages (2007, 2008, 2011, 2012) 2 TTT (2008, 2011) One-day races and Classics Giro del Piemonte (2006, 2008)

Daniele Bennati (born 24 September 1980) is an Italian former road racing cyclist. He rode professionally from 2002 to 2019 for several top teams.

Daniele was known for his amazing speed in the final moments of a race, making him a fantastic sprinter. He became a professional cyclist in 2002. Over his career, Bennati won 11 stages in the biggest cycling races, called Grand Tours. These include two stages in the Tour de France, three in the Giro d'Italia, and six in the Vuelta a España. He also won the special "points jersey" in the 2007 Vuelta a España and the 2008 Giro d'Italia.

He stopped racing at the end of the 2019 season because of ongoing back pain.

Daniele Bennati's Cycling Journey

How Daniele Started Cycling

Bennati was born in Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy. Cycling was a big part of his family. His father was a good amateur rider, and his brother also raced when he was younger. Daniele started racing early, winning his very first race at just 9 years old! As a young amateur, he won a stage in the Giro delle Regioni, showing his talent from a young age.

Learning from a Legend (2002-2003)

When Daniele was 21, he became a professional cyclist. He joined the Acqua & Sapone–Cantina Tollo team, which included the famous Italian sprinter Mario Cipollini. Bennati quickly showed he could sprint too. In 2002, he finished second in a race stage, right behind another top sprinter, Alessandro Petacchi. He got his first win in June at the Tour of Austria and another win later that year.

Daniele was a key part of Cipollini's "leadout train." This is a group of riders who work together to help their sprinter get into the best position for the final sprint. When Cipollini left the Vuelta a España, Bennati got a chance to sprint for himself. He finished 5th in a stage, which was a great result for him in a Grand Tour.

In 2003, Bennati stayed with the same team, which was now called De Nardi–Colpack. He continued to support Cipollini in big Italian races. In the Grand Tours, when Cipollini would leave the race in the mountains, Bennati could race for himself. He finished second to Alessandro Petacchi in a stage of the 2003 Giro d'Italia. He also won stages in the Tour Méditerranéen and the Tour of Poland that year.

A Challenging Year (2004)

In 2004, Bennati joined the Phonak team. However, this year was tough for him. He got a virus that made him stop racing for several months. Because of this, he didn't win any races that season. In 2005, he moved to a new team, Lampre–Caffita, which was a bigger team aiming for major races.

Becoming a Star (2005-2007)

2005 Season

At the Lampre team, Bennati started to change from a helpful teammate (called a domestique) into a top sprinter who could win races on his own. He had many good finishes, including 5th place in a stage of Tirreno–Adriatico. His first big result was in Gent–Wevelgem, where he finished 3rd. A few weeks later, Bennati won the Giro di Toscana.

He didn't race in the Giro d'Italia or the Tour de France that year. But in August, he won three stages and the points jersey in the Tour of Germany. He also had strong finishes in other important races. In September, he won two more stages in the 2005 Tour of Poland. Because of these great results, he was chosen to be part of the Italian national team for the 2005 UCI Road World Championships. By the end of 2005, Bennati was a rider to watch!

2006 Season

In 2006, Bennati's team became Lampre–Fondital. He started the season with two second-place finishes. He then got his first win of the year in February. In March, he had to stop racing in the 2006 Tour of Flanders due to illness. However, he recovered and won the final stage of the Giro del Trentino.

Bennati did not race in the Giro d'Italia again. Instead, he won a stage in the 2006 Volta a Catalunya. In early June, he won the Memorial Marco Pantani. He also wore the leader's jersey for a day and won the points jersey in the Tour of Switzerland. In July, Bennati rode in his first 2006 Tour de France. He finished in the top ten in eight stages, even getting a 2nd place. He had to leave the race after a fall, but he was doing very well in the points competition. Two months later, he won two more stages in the 2006 Tour of Poland. He finished his season with a victory at the Giro del Piemonte, bringing his total wins for 2006 to nine.

2007 Season

Bennati started the 2007 season strong with two wins in February. He won a stage in the Tour Méditerranéean and then beat Alessandro Petacchi to win three stages in the Volta a la Communidat Valenciana. He had some health issues in March and April, which affected his performance in some big races like 2007 Milan–San Remo.

However, his form improved. He won a stage in the Dreidaagse De Panne. In the 2007 Tour of Flanders, he worked hard for his teammate Alessandro Ballan, who won the race. Bennati recovered his health in the Tour of Switzerland and won the points jersey there.

In July, Bennati rode in the 2007 Tour de France for the second time. He wanted to win a stage and compete for the points jersey. After some tough stages and a fall, he started to shine in the final week. He won two stages, including the famous last stage on the Champs-Elysees in Paris!

In September, Bennati raced in his second Grand Tour of the season, the 2007 Vuelta a España. He won the first stage and wore the leader's jersey for a day. Just like in the Tour de France, he was amazing in the final week. He won two more stages, including the last stage in Madrid. This win also gave him the points jersey for the entire race. This was his tenth win of 2007. Unfortunately, he found out he had a broken wrist, which ended his season early. During the Vuelta, Bennati signed a new contract with the Liquigas team.

Big Wins with Liquigas (2008-2010)

2008 Season

Joining Liquigas meant Bennati was now on the same team as another star, Filippo Pozzato. Bennati had a knee injury that kept him out of races until late April. When he returned, he quickly got back into form. He finished second in a short race prologue and won the final stage of the Tour de Romandie, also winning the points classification.

Bennati at a race in Philadelphia in 2008.

The 2008 Giro d'Italia was a huge success for Bennati. He had exciting battles with another top sprinter, Mark Cavendish. Bennati won the third stage. He then won the ninth stage by a tiny margin. He also won the 12th stage, again just beating Cavendish. His three stage victories in the Giro, which didn't have many stages for sprinters, also earned him the points jersey! However, this tough race caused an injury to his Achilles tendon.

He didn't race again until August. At the Eneco Tour, he won a stage and wore the leader's jersey for a day. He then went to the 2008 Vuelta a España. His team, Liquigas, won the first stage, which was a team time trial. Bennati then won the fourth stage. He ended his year with another victory at the Giro del Piemonte, which he had also won in 2006.

New Teams, More Victories (2011-2012)

At the 2012 Vuelta a España, Bennati got his first win of 2012 in a very close finish on stage 18. He dedicated this win to the memory of fellow cyclist Wouter Weylandt and his grandfather. After 2012, Bennati joined Bjarne Riis' Saxo–Tinkoff team.

Helping the Team (2013-2016)

With Saxo–Tinkoff, Bennati was part of the team for the 2013 Tour de France. His main goal in this Tour was not to win stages himself, but to help his team leader, Alberto Contador, try to win the overall race. This shows how versatile Bennati was, able to sprint for wins or support his teammates.

Daniele Bennati's Top Achievements

Grand Tour Races: Year by Year

Here's how Daniele Bennati finished in the biggest multi-day races, called Grand Tours:

Grand Tour	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Giro d'Italia	—	DNF	DNF	—	—	—	70	—	—	—	DNF	DNF	—	—	—	DNF	—
Tour de France	—	—	—	—	DNF	74	—	132	—	—	—	107	96	DNF	—	104	104
Vuelta a España	DNF	—	—	—	—	63	DNF	84	83	111	144	—	108	131	107	—	133

One-Day Races: His Performance Over Time

These are his results in important one-day "Classic" races:

See also

In Spanish: Daniele Bennati para niños