18 March 2015
IAM Cycling
The 2015 edition of Tirreno-Adriatico ended under grey skies with an overall victory by Nairo Quintana (Movistar). The Columbian climber left it to Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory) to win the final time trial stage, which was a ten kilometer route along the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Though Matthias Brändle would normally have hoped for more, he did not have a great day after such a demanding week, and finished 28th at 42 seconds behind the winning time.
As for Sébastien Reichenbach, his 61st place was enough for him to finish the race as the best placed of the IAM Cycling riders in the general classification.
Before returning to his native Vorarlberg with a feeling of accomplishment, Brändle reviewed his performance of the day.
I definitely felt the efforts of the cold during this time trial. These last two days I really had to force myself to finish. And then today, I did not have the legs to have a successful ride. My muscles were heavy, but it was necessary to push the pedals very hard. With long straights and two or three curves, it was important to develop maximum power in order to hope for a win or even a podium.
The former hour record holder, though, was not wasting his time in Italy. This race was important to help me get fit in time for the upcoming classics, which are among my primary objectives for this season. Ive had very good feelings, and I will continue my preparation knowing that I am on time.
Kjell Carlström, directeur sportif for IAM Cycling along with Rubens Bertogliati, stressed the extenuating circumstances caused by the extreme conditions the riders experienced.
The weather did not make it any easier on our guys. We had many sick and injured guys from crashes. But focusing on the positive things, Matthias did take that excellent 5th place in the prologue, and Sébastien was climbing with the best in the final of Saturdays stage. If the stage Sunday had not been so severe with the snow, he very well could have been looking to have found his place in the top-15 overall.
