George Bennett disrupts UCI points plan of Burgos Burpellet BH at New Zealand championship
George Bennett has been crowned New Zealand champion for the second time in his career. The 35-year-old climber from NSN Cycling was the strongest in the pack on a hilly course in Rotorangi. Josh Burnett from Burgos Burpellet BH took silver, narrowly missing out on several coveted UCI points. Matthew Wilson finished third. Last year, Paul Wright won.
On Saturday local time, Bennett left little chance for the competition. Already in the fourth of a total of twenty laps,, he launched his attack. Bennett was joined by six others. Among them were Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Reuben Thompson (Lotto-Intermarché), Lewis Bower (Groupama-FDJ), and defending champion Wright (Moderne Adventure), who believed in the move, especially since NSN Cycling was the strongest team in the race. They held back Corbin Strong, Dion Smith, and promising prospect Kiaan Watts.
The early attack proved a masterstroke, as the peloton never caught back up to the challenging circuit around Rotorangi. Encouraged by team director Sam Bewley—also a Kiwi—Bennett decided with about forty kilometers to go to put pressure on his breakaway companions,. The climber broke away solo and then powered on to the title. Bennett had also previously claimed the silver fern—a symbol of New Zealand—in 2021 while riding for Jumbo-Visma.
"We rode a very smart race in a strong break with a few underestimated guys," he told Radio New Zealand. "Usually, such an early move doesn’t stick, but next time I’ll think of this one," he laughed. "This victory means a lot to me because I’ve been through eighteen tough months. To win again for family, friends, and teammates... I’m very proud to wear our jersey again in the WorldTour. My big goal is the Tour de France this summer. Wearing the silver fern there would be truly special. This hasn’t sunk in yet. It's awesome!”
Burgos Burpellet BH’s strategy just misses out
With his victory, Bennett has disrupted the plans of Burgos Burpellet BH. Insiders within the team previously told WielerFlits that the Spanish outfit recruits as many exotic riders as possible who can relatively easily score UCI points in national and continental championships. This is a deliberate strategy. The best example is Alexandre Mayer from Mauritius. He was signed on June 19 last year; that very same week, he took gold and silver at the national championships.
That immediately earned him 125 UCI points. The Spanish ProTeam’s roster includes a Greek, a Guatemalan (Sergio Chumil), a Uruguayan, a Japanese, an Eritrean (Merhawi Kudus), a Mexican (Cesar Macias, who started the season well), and a Mongolian (Jambaljamts Sainbayar). New Zealander Burnett is also part of this list. He earned 75 UCI points with silver, while the winner collected 100 UCI points.
We also see that Burgos Burpellet BH currently ranks even above Visma | Lease a Bike and Unibet Rose Rockets in the UCI Team Ranking. The Spaniards have already collected more than 500 UCI points, even though the European season has only been underway for two weeks, and they have not yet competed for major wins. How is that possible? Merhawi Kudus became African champion in November and also scored at other continental championships, totaling 280 UCI points.
According to our sources, Burgos Burpellet BH adopts this strategy to qualify faster for the top-30 in the UCI Ranking. Only that way can the team qualify for wildcards for Grand Tours. The Vuelta a España is crucial for the squad to keep their sponsors satisfied.
UCI Team Ranking as of February 7, 2026
