03 April 2013
IAM Cycling
On Wednesdays double stage at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Matteo Pelucchi was able to defend his lead in the morning road race by taking third place in a sprint won by Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) in front of Bryan Coquard and Pelucchi.
However in the afternoons 6.8 kilometer time trial he lost hold of the yellow jersey when Luke Durbrigde (Ornica-GreenEdge) scorched the course to take the stage and the overall lead.
Although sorry to lose the lead, the Swiss pro team reveled in the opportunity to defend the jersey in the mornings road stage.
I am proud to have helped write this page in the history of IAM Cycling by winning its first road stage. But it was also a first for me because I had never lead a stage race before, Pelucchi said. I will not soon forget those magic moments. I lost the lead because I am not an expert at time trialling, but I still have the Green Points Jersey to defend. That will certainly prove to be powerful motivation for these next days.
For his part, Kjell Carlström, the directeur sportif, believes that there are still many opportunities for the IAM Cycling riders to figure in the race.
We will definitely still plan to weigh heavily in the proceedings. The GC is not closed to us, with Stefan Denifl and Thomas Löfkivst in with a chance, while Marcel Wyss can look to tomorrow, and even Pelucchi can take aim at Fridays stage.
Team IAM Cycling results on the Circuit de la Sarthe
photos: Etienne Garnier
