30 March 2014
IAM Cycling
John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) proved his phenomenal power against Arnaud Démare and Peter Sagan at the finish of a nervous Gent-Wevelgem, which was marked by a number of crashes.
Faced with intense competition, IAM Cycling managed to initiate the days major breakaway with Marcel Aregger leading the race for nearly 200 kilometers. The youngest rider on the Swiss Pro Continental team started the ball rolling practically from kilometer zero in Deinze. At the finish, the rider from the German part of Switzerland, explained the reason for his days efforts.
I was given one of two jobs for this race: either get in the early break or help to look after Matteo Pelucchi. Normally the peloton does not let the first break to go, but this time I was in the right shot. The break worked well together.
Everything counts on the pedal, and I managed to make it more than 180 kilometers before seeing the peloton again. So I did my best for my first World Tour event.
The sensations were good in Stresa ten days ago. And this helps my morale. For the confidence, there is nothing like a good breakaway.
For his part, Eddy Seigneur, one of the directeurs sportifs with Marcello Albasini, was keen to point out the merits of his young rider.
I gave him great congratulations on the bus. Marcel was able to fulfill the task we gave him. For a first experience at this level, to take the correct breakaway is not always obvious or easy. For the rest, we lacked a bit of luck in the decisive moments. Saramotins flatted at the worst possible time. And then crashes hit before the final, but the favorites made it through. In future, we need to be better placed at all time to avoid these sorts of setbacks.
