31 January 2016
IAM Cycling
THE QUOTE
It was a tough day especially since we had only five riders on the start line while most other teams had seven. The guys did a great job for me, and I felt good, Leigh Howard explained shortly after the awards ceremony. I am very satisfied with our performance. We did everything possible to win.
THE ANALYSIS
After a solo flight of around fifteen kilometers, Peter Kennaugh (Sky) succeeded in celebrating the victory in Geelong just six seconds ahead of IAM Cyclings Leigh Howard, who won the sprint for second out of the group of pursuers. Satisfied with this result, Kjell Carlström, directeur sportif, discussed the situation at the finish line. It was a great race. We knew it would be hard, and a lot of riders attempted to escape early on, it order to make life difficult for the sprinters. We were attentive with Jarlinson Pantano and Aleksejs Saramotins working hard in the chase group to bring Kennaugh back, Carlström explained. In the last kilometers, both Pantano and Saramotins did a lot of work for Howard, but in the end Kennaugh was too strong. I am very happy to be able to leave Australia with this result. The team showed great spirit again today.
THE NUMBER
1 – Leigh Howards second place is the first podium finish for IAM Cycling in the 2016 season. The Australians success is in large part thanks to the strong overall team performance, which also saw Simon Pellaud and Marcel Aregger make important contributions, and is reason enough for celebration.
Race pictures Graham Watson/BettiniPhoto©2016
