Beaten pre-race favourite Sam Bennett said he had ruined his recipe for winning Sunday's Gent-Wevelgem classic by "eating too much". The in-form Irish sprinter arrived at the start line with five wins already under his belt this season. The 30-year-old had won two stages at both the Paris-Nice and UAE Tour stage races before storming the Bruges-La Panne classic on Wednesday. Bang there until 15 kilometres from the finish line on Sunday he suddenly hit a wall, eventually trailing in 55th behind Wout van Aert. "I made a stupid mistake, I ate too much," the rider with Belgium team Deceuninck Quick-Step admitted to Belga radio. "I wanted to fill up my reserves of energy as much as possible and I stuffed myself," explained the 2020 Tour de France sprint king. "It wasn't a great idea. The combination of lactic acid and a too full stomach meant I vomited. "Then I knew that my legs were spent because I had no energy left. "I imploded in the final 15km with my race over." bnl/nr/dj