Tour de Suisse, Prologue – Martin Elmiger – Happy to take this fourth place in front of my family and friends –

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11 June 2016

IAM Cycling

 

Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, Head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport was visiting the prologue of the Tour de Suisse and had a chat with Michel Thétaz, founder of IAM Cycling.
Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, Head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport was visiting the prologue of the Tour de Suisse at Baar and had a chat with Michel Thétaz, founder of IAM.

THE SMILE

Belonging to Martin Elmiger upon hearing that he managed to take fourth place just 6 seconds behind the winner Fabian Cancellara in a prologue that took place just a stone’s throw from his home in Zug. “I am happy with this fourth place finish in front of my family and friends. I had the heart to do well, though the sensations were not great during these 6 kilometers. I lacked a little power, a little something extra that in the end can mean victory. But I have no regrets. I am convinced that I will sleep well tonight.”

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THE STORY

While Fabian Cancellara will wear the yellow jersey as leader of the Tour de Suisse for the first stage that will also take place around Baar, Martin Elmiger will be the proxy wearer of the jersey reserved for the best place Swiss rider on the strength of his fourth place.

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THE QUOTE

“In life, luck and bad luck fight for the leading role,” Reto Hollenstein jokingly commented after taking a strong 16th place in the technical and demanding prologue. “Today was not my day because I had to deal with and was handicapped by the poor weather and road conditions that we had at the beginning of the prologue.”

THE EXPLANATION

“I am satisfied with my prologue,” exclaimed Mathias Frank when asked to analyze his performance. “I lost 36 seconds, but I managed to get to the finish without too many problems. Now I have to think about saving my strength and recover in time for our first appointment with the mountains on Wednesday.”

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THE WEATHER

The sky played with the nerves of the riders. The rain joined the riders who set off in the early part of the stage, making for treacherous roads and delicate braking. In such conditions, Reto Hollenstein and Matthias Brändle lost all chances of posting top times. A ray of sunshine broke through to dry the roads for those riders starting in the second half of the line-up, though late-started Fabian Cancellara did suffer a few rain drops along his route.

THE NUMBER

15 – That’s the number of times Martin Elmiger has been at the start of the Tour de Suisse in 16 years as a professional.

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Pictures – IAM Cycling

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