Flash interview
Last week we sat down with Sean Bennett to do a quick interview and get to know more about the rider that after two years with EF Education First is moving to the newly re-branded Qhubeka-Assos for the 2021 season. We were sitting in Brodie Chapman’s kitchen doing the interview, so please excuse/ enjoy her wise input into the proceedings as well.
TPB: So you are:
Sean: Im 24, from california, near Berkley, San Francisco area.
TPB: Three words to describe yourself
Sean: uhhhhhh. (long pause) I’m really bad at this type of question.
(Brodie chimes in: “Energetic?”)
Sean: Don’t like being bored.
Brodie: That’s energetic. But said in four words.
Sean: Ok, “Don’t like Being. Don’t like Bored… No Se Bored.”
TPB: If you could make up any ice cream flavour, like anything in the world what would it be?
Sean: Salted caramel with peanuts. wait… Lychee salted caramel. I’d like to try that. It could be shit. Am I allowed to swear?
TPB: You have to relive one day of your life forever, which day would you choose?
Sean: ooooh. Senior homecoming? (Brodie cracks up laughing)
TPB: Were you homecoming king?
Sean: No no no, big joke.
TPB: Would you rather live on a beach or in a cabin in the woods?
Sean: Depends where the cabin is. Can the cabin be on the beach? That would sick.
TPB: That’s not one of the two options.
Brodie: That’s how you describe Sean. He wants it all.
Sean: This is true. Can there be a cabin on the beach and mountains behind it? So I can go into the mountains but not live there.
TPB: Choose your superpower:
SB: Flying. Easy.
TPB: What the hell happened to 2020?
Brodie: Loaded Question…
Sean: I mean, 2019 to 2021. I don’t know what you are talking about. This question doesn’t exist.
TPB: Good answer. Best day on the bike ever?
Sean: Tomorrow? How about Laguna Seca stage of Tour of California 2018. That’s probably my best memory. My grandma was at the finish. I was second on the stage.
Sean at the 2018 Tour of California: Image Ray Rogers (wikimedia)
TPB: Question from Nathan (Haas) : Fold or Crunch? I think it has to do with toilet paper.
Sean: Fold. Who crunches?
Brodie: I crunch!
Sean: You crunch?!?! I got in an argument about this with one of my friends, because he crunches and I was like, what do you mean??
Brodie: You grab it…
Sean: No you fold it into a neat square…
(Editor’s note: this banter went on for a while but we thought it best to cut it here…)
TPB: When you are eating a mango do you get the mango and slice it and eat it over the sink or do you scoop it out into a bowl?
Sean: Depends if there is anyone watching… if I’m alone yea, shirt comes off, I need to take a shower after, it’s a full afternoon activity. Back to the toilet paper… what does Nathan do?
TPB: I’ll ask him when I’m home.
Sean: What do you do?
TPB: I’m not totally sure. Think it depends on how much toilet paper I’ve got left.
TPB: Anyway. Moving on. One more question: Next year, what should we look out for with you? What are you looking forward to with the new team?
Sean: I’m excited for the new team, I would really like to do the Giro again, I feel like… it was my first (Grand Tour) you know, and I didn’t get to finish it this year and I was pretty frustrated with it, and I would like to go back. I had a pretty open role this year but never got to act on it. I’ve got unfinished business there. Amstel is the other race that means a lot to me. The US National team house is in that area and I’ve spent 3-4 years training on those roads, so last year when I did it, rolling out through Maastrict, I realised I knew exactly where we were, I knew the course like the back of my hand. They were our every day training roads, so its a special race to me that also suits me well.
TPB: And the team?
Sean: I’m excited to see how close the team wants me to be involved with Qhubeka, I think its a great cause. I worked at a bike shop before I started racing professionally, and they had a bikes to Africa program, so I have some history with this sort of initiative and I think it’s such a great cause.
