Paris-Nice – Rik Verbrugghe «Paris-Nice is necessary gateway to the Classics»

Though the race bypassed the Col d’Eze last year, it was again tackled by the peloton in the last stage of the Paris-Nice 2015.  And the same winner was found at the top the last time it was raced, with Australian Richie Porte (Sky) taking the stage victory against the clock and thereby securing the overall title for the second time in three years.

Sylvain Chavanel, one of the leaders for the IAM Cycling team, put in a strong performance to finish in eleventh place overall.

The Swiss professional IAM Cycling team did not succeed in bringing home a victory for this edition of the Paris-Nice.  That did not prevent sports manager Rik Verbrugghe from awarding his team compliments and praise.

“Everything ended up being positive for us,” Verbrugghe said.  “I think we did a lot of great things in this race.  It’s just a shame that Sylvain was not able to crack the top-10, but I think he proved his capacity and ability on Saturday where he performed very well among the best.  And more generally, I am pleased with the performance of the team as a whole throughout the entire race.”  

On multiple levels, the IAM Cycling team was able to rub shoulders with the strongest in all areas of racing, whether in the sprints with two top-10 finishes from Heinrich Haussler and Jonas Van Genechten or when the road turned upward with a climber like Mathias Frank, as well as placing well in the overall with Sylvain Chavanel.  That is not to forget the excellent team work that riders like Dries Devenyns, David Tanner, Vicente Reynes and Jerome Pineau all accomplished.

And though it is difficult to choose one particular success from this race, Rik Verbrugghe does have his candidate for best memory.

“Among all the great, positive things that we did throughout this week, if I had to highlight one thing it would be Sylvain’s performance in the stage on Saturday when he was on the attack the entire stage and yet still managed to find the resources to be among the best finishers at the end,” Verbrugghe declared.  “Paris-Nice is a necessary gateway to the Classics.  Some riders here are already on very good form, but it is important to remember that some others are taking a slower route.  Mathias Frank, for example, is in an early phase of his progression, and he needed the difficulties of the Paris-Nice to be more efficient in the future races.  His next event will be the Critérium International, and I think we can expect to see him at a higher level there.”