08 March 2014
IAM Cycling
The sun, heat (20°) and dust did nothing to slow down a powerful Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) from picking up a superb victory in the historic center of Sienna.
Difficult conditions did, however, work to dislodge the IAM Cycling crew from the main part of the action. Directeur sportif Marcello Albasini explained the situation after his riders had completed the 197 kilometer long race that took in 10 sectors of dirt roads through the Tuscan landscape.
Once again we were missing a rider to race at the front with the best when the deciding moves were being made. The team performed well and it worked in harmony for our leader and best asset, Thomas Löfkvist. But it didnt take Löfkvist long to realize that he was not at his best for this race, and he was sorry about it. And in the face of that, with the conditions made even more difficult with a strong wind, we had our share of bad luck with punctures hitting both Lang and Aregger. When our team car is back in 16th position, this complicates being able to provide any service.
Pirmin Lang (29 years old) took the time to confirm this assessment before hitting the road to head to the Roma Maxima.
The conditions were really windy, with both a head wind and side wind taking its toll. This made it even hard to keep a good position in the wake of the Cannondale team pace. Sagans team put their pedals down and really raised the speed in the pack. Aside from a short spell after the breakaway separated itself, we were always pushing the speedometer above 40 km/h. This effectively made it even harder for us to come back from our mishaps and try to turn our luck around. The teams are incredibly competitive and it left very little space for any escape attempts. Compared to when I raced here last year, the level is even higher. We really hoped to be able to keep the pace and find a way into the right breakaway. Just glancing at the top 10 on the ranking table at the race confirms the importance of doing that.
