Bennett warms up for ‘extreme’ Olympics

National champion George Bennett is turning the heat up on his preparations for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics after struggling in the cold at the recent Giro d’Italia.

Bennett is bracing for weather ‘‘40 degrees’’ warmer than it was in Italy, where his Giro campaign came unstuck inside the first week due to the miserable conditions that greeted riders on stages four and six.

The slender Jumbo-Visma rider admitted he was not suited to the cold, and was bitterly disappointed to drop out of general classification contention so early in the race after arriving with topfive ambitions.

But he will not face the same problem in Japan, with ‘‘extreme’’ hot and humid weather expected during the 234km men’s road race on Mount Fuji, which features 4865m of elevation gain.

‘‘What undid me in the Giro was five degrees, rain, terrible weather. It’s just not for a guy like me,’’ Bennett said.

‘‘But I’m happy to put that behind me and happy to be back focusing on training for Tokyo, and it’s completely different. It’s probably 40 degrees warmer, and it’s a perfect course for a guy like me.’’

Bennett recently had a sauna installed in his house in Andorra to help him prepare for the intense heat, while he is likely to wear ice socks and carry drink bottles with slushies on race day to in an attempt to keep himself as cool as possible.

‘‘You have to be strong, you have to be good at climbing and have to be all these things,’’ Bennett said, ‘‘but I think the conditions are so extreme that I’ve built into my training programme heat adaptation sessions.’’

Although expected, the Nelson rider’s selection for his second Olympics was formally announced yesterday, named alongside first timers Patrick Bevin, mountainbiker Anton Cooper and BMX rider Rebecca Petch as the final four members of Cycling New Zealand’s 19-strong cycling team.