13 February 2014
IAM Cycling
Aeolus, the god of the winds, is not only making himself known at the Tour du Qatar this week. On the contrary, in the first stage of the Tour of the Mediterranean, which ended in a sprint won by John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano), the wind played nasty tricks on the riders. Nevertheless, the IAM Cycling team was often present at the front doing its best to take control of the final selection of the race.
Marcel Wyss explained how it unfolded once he arrived at the finish with some of the latecomers.
The wind has already weighed heavily on this Tour Med. The breakaway set off early in the stage, and the peloton kept a calm eye on them through the feed zone. Everything was chaos after that.
The race exploded after we passed through a roundabout followed quickly by a corner. I found myself in the part of the pack that was on the left hand side of the road. And then we were riding over what seemed like a country lane more suited to cyclocross.
We even came upon a barrier that forced us to carry our bikes for a section before being able to remount them. I managed to stay with the front group up until the final circuit. But it was very nervous racing in the peloton and I finally had to let go of my position.
However, kicking off the race with a 223 kilometer stage was not a problem for Wyss.
The 223 kilometer distance did not bother me. It was sunny and the temperature stuck around a pleasant 16°. Really, it was the wind that wore me out. But I have good legs and we are still just at the beginning of the season.
photos Etienne Garnier / Velofotopro
