For the second year in a row, California native Sean Bennett was busy looking for a team for the new season. This time, however, the former World Tour rider's career as a professional road racer came to an unexpected halt at the young age of 26 when Bennett signed with a non-existent professional team.

The optimistic and soft-spoken Bennett found a home at the continental level last season with the China Glory Cycling Team, a first-year team of 13 riders representing seven countries, based in Nice, France, with the immediate goal of raising its status The goal. According to Bennett, the team signed a contract extension to the professional team level in October, but the team scrapped the project for next season after failing to complete the UCI paperwork to raise funds.

Bennett said he had "good memories," but was also left with the bitter regret of "watching my career slip away" in the final months of 2022 without offers from other teams. In an interview with Cycling News, however, he said, "The sport is not over."

"I am still young. I'm still young and that's good for me. I'm still young, and that's good for me. I'm still young, and that's good for me," Bennett told Cycling News from his home in El Cerrito, on the east side of San Francisco Bay.

Bennett said he signed a contract to join a professional team proposed by China Glory in the middle of this year and stopped looking for another team. Then the wheels fell off.

"At the end of October, they weren't sure about a pro team. Bennett said, "At the end of October, they weren't sure about a pro team. It was as if nothing had happened." They had submitted all the paperwork to the UCI. But the funds came from China, and they never sent [the funds] to the UCI for a pro team."

"Then they went back to look for a team at the end of November and in December, but nothing came."

The UCI was not convinced about a pro team.

China Glory Cycling recently said it was considering increasing the number of Chinese athletes from six to eight for 2023, but did not confirm whether they had updated at the continental level.

"I have some good memories of the last few years. The last few months have been quite frustrating and sad. I saw my career slip away and I lost my team for next year," Bennett wrote on his Instagram account on Sunday.

"This situation of teams folding or changing their minds at the last minute has been frustrating these past few winters. I wanted to keep it going, but nothing has materialized this year and it's time to say goodbye. I am grateful to those who have had my back and supported me during these times in the past."

Bennett, 22, gained traction as well as the spotlight on the road with Hagens Berman Axiom, moved to the WorldTour with the EF Education team for two seasons, gained Grand Tour experience at the Giro d'Italia, and on stage 18 of the 2019 He finished ninth in the group sprint, and despite his brief stint with EF Education, he was highly praised for his bike-handling skills developed on mountain bikes, from his versatility on climbs to sprints, to his tactical ability to find a breakaway.

In 2021, he moved to Team Qhubeka and competed in his first Tour de France. However, Qhubeka disbanded at the end of the season and Bennett was looking for a new contract. Bennett moved to a new continental team, the China Glory Cycling Team, and was able to continue racing in Europe and Asia for a full season.

With the Hagens Berman Axiom team, he will join 2018 teammates Joan Almeida (UAE Team Emirates), Yasper Filipsen (Alpecin Deceuninck), and Mikel Bjerg, Rui Oliveira, Ivo Oliveira were on the radar of the World Tour team, along with teammates from UAE Team Emirates such as

Bennett cited his best memory of 2018 as his second-place finish at the Tour of California in front of his family. In an exciting sprint finish at Laguna Seca Speedway that day, he finished just three seconds behind stage 3 winner Toms Skuzins (Trek-Segafredo) and held off a late charge from the world's top sprinters, including Caleb Yuan and Peter Sagan The team was able to hold off a late charge by the world's top sprinters such as Caleb Yuan and Peter Sagan. A month later, he took a stage win at Baby Giro, and finished in the top 10 at the Tour of Utah and the Colorado Classic.

After three seasons on the World Tour, Bennett returned to the continental level in 2022 with solid results, including top-10 finishes at the Tour of Slovenia and Tour of Turkey.

"My career was short, but during that time I got pretty into coaching, training, nutrition, and all those aspects. Maybe I wasn't the most talented. But, I don't know, I figured that by investing more time there, I could figure out how to catch up with everybody else through nutrition and different training. So I'd like to pursue something in that area," he said of his coaching options on the West Coast.

Would Bennett be open to continuing his racing career in off-road events?

"I'm highly motivated to ride and race, but it definitely has to be something I'm comfortable with and something I can ride. Definitely, I want to keep racing. But I also have a life that I need money to live. It's not something I can do for free at the moment."