10 May 2014
IAM Cycling
No one is expected to do the impossible. Sylvain Chavanel lived that saying perfectly during the fourth stage of the 4 Days of Dunkirk, which was won by Thierry Hupond (Giant-Shimano).
The IAM Cycling leader did not succeed in knocking Arnaud Démare (FDJ.fr) off his pedestal; Démare remains the leader by six seconds over Chavanel. Nevertheless, the five time champion of France in the time trial once again put in a virtuoso effort following the enormous amount of work his teammates did for him.
After attacking on a descent less than 30 kilometers from the finish, Chavanel rode with Steven Tronet (BigMat Auber 93) in an unsuccessful effort to stay clear of the peloton. His main opponent for the overall victory was too well protected by teammates. And unfortunately in the sprint for the finish line, Démare even eked out four more seconds over Chavanel.
After playing this veritable game of poker with the directors of the FDJ.fr team to take control of the race, Eddy Seigneur took stock of the day with his usual frankness.
The FDJ.fr team would not assume the responsibility of controlling the race early on, which means it was afraid of us. But ultimately, their bluff paid off. For my part, I am disappointed for my riders, even if we did not do everything right. Sylvain Chavanel attacked perhaps too soon. But at least he has the merit of having really tried something. And there is still a stage to make the tide come our way. Until we cross the finish line Sunday, there are still a lot of things that can happen.
As for Sylvain Chavanel, his summing up of the day was pointed.
The climbs were too far from the finish and the head wind did not help matters. At the end, I was on the edge of hunger knock after having put in so much work. Since FDJ.fr refused to fulfill its role as leaders, IAM Cycling and Saxo Bank were there to take up the slack and prevent this stage from becoming a ridiculous shake up of the GC. From my point of view, I am not disappointed. I lost four seconds, but really that doesnt matter. In such circumstances with that sort of result, it does work to weld a team together.
