10 April 2016
IAM Cycling
THE QUOTE
I am very happy with this sixth place, Heinrich Haussler commented after his well-deserved shower. The team did an amazing job. We ended up at the front with Saramotins narrowly avoiding a pile-up. But today my legs were on fire. Although I was not able to stay with the leaders into the final, I have a ton of confidence for the rest of the season after my 7th place at Milan-San Remo.
THE EXPLANATION
I really pushed myself until the end. When I finished and hit the lawn in the middle of the velodrome, I was dead, Aleksejs Saramotins explained after taking a brilliant 8th place, which is a suitable follow-up to his 13th in the 2015 vintage. I love the cobblestones, and they put me on my mettle. My dream is to win this classic once, and I intend to accomplish that before Im through.
THE FACT OF THE DAY
IAM Cycling put in an outstanding team performance as the only squad that had three riders in the top-15. Heinrich Haussler took 6th place in the sprint out of the second group, while Aleksejs Saramotins secured 8th. And then young Oliver Naesen tried his luck for a place in the top-10 sprinting against Peter Sagan from the third group on the road.
THE APPEAL
I asked the guys to go out and ride aggressively for the entire race, Rik Verbrugghe, sports manager for IAM Cycling, confided. Everything was in play up to a crash, and Oliver Naesen lost his chances there. But we have other riders able to bring to us additional satisfactions. Haussler and Saramotins taking 6th and 8th place is encouraging and confirms the excellent work accomplished by the team. They managed to ride at their top capabilities and returned to an exceptional level after their illnesses.
THE NUMBER
60 – The points accrued by IAM Cycling in the team classification for the World Tour thanks to the 6th and 8th places that Heinrich Haussler and Aleksejs Saramotins earned. That will be added to the 34 that the team had garnered since the beginning of the season. That means the Swiss professional team has climbed two places to 13th in the team standings.
Pictures – BettiniPhoto2016
