Sam Bennett to make Pinarello-Q36.5 debut at Nokere Koerse after heart ablation

Speaking to the Irish Independent earlier this year, Bennett explained that he awoke in the middle of the night with heart palpitations during a visit to London in November 2025, though he waited until the morning before calling the medical staff at his new team. 

Consequently, the former Tour de France points classification winner underwent surgery on November 18 and resumed training at the start of 2026, building up gradually.

“Once I got a certain amount into recovery for the heart, the fitness actually progressed quite quickly,” said Bennett in an official press release. “But what I noticed was that it felt like training an injured muscle again, like any other muscle in the body.”

“I was describing it recently like this: you push to a limit, that becomes the normal zone, and then you push to the next limit. It was really like retraining the heart gradually,” added the Irishman.

Bennett has built up a solid base since returning to training and has stated that he intends to build up the high-intensity efforts gradually. 

“My general fitness is very good, the base and the zone two work feel normal again. What still needs time are the repeated high efforts and time in VO2 max. That’s something you can’t rush,” said Bennett.

A return to action on the Belgian Cobbles in Nokere Koerse, a race he last participated in back in 2011, has Bennett excited, and he is looking forward to seeing where he is at. 

Jasper Philipsen and Jordi Meeus are some of the headline names on the start list, with Bennett's Italian teammate Matteo Moschetti set to lead for Pinarello-Q36.5.

“This race will be exciting because it’s a chance to see where I am. It’s a learning curve, to understand what’s good, what’s not good and what I still need to work on,” said Bennett. 

“It’s strange to have the nerves of the first race of the season this late in March, but I’m excited. Nervous as well, in a good way, and really looking forward to racing again.”

Bennett made the switch to Pinarello-Q36.5 for 2026, after spending the previous two seasons at Decathlon CMA CGM and looks forward to linking up with his new teammates.

“It will be really nice to race with the guys and properly be part of the team. Everyone has been incredibly supportive, but until you train and race together, you’re still watching a bit from the sidelines," said Bennett.