13 September 2016
IAM Cycling
THE STATEMENT
I am happy to be racing again, Austrian Stefan Denifl explained because he has not raced for the team since the Tour of Poland after which he headed to the Olympics in Rio, and will now return to racing. Going to the Olympics was a cool experience. It was very impressive to be able to see the festivities that up close and in person, even if the road race itself did not go according to plan since I crashed and had a mechanical. And then when I returned home, I was sick for almost two weeks dealing with the flu. But now and for the last two or three weeks I have been healthy and able to train very hard, so I can line up at the start of the GP de Wallonie feeling good and with a certain amount of confidence.
THE MEMORY
In 2011, I came to this race and took 9th place; the fact that I have been able to get into the top-10 of this race in the past is certainly good for my mental outlook, the 28-year old Denifl said. The race suits me, and I hope that I can get a good result here. This is doubly important for me since I have still to sign a contract for next season.
THE EXPLANATION
By Thierry Marichal, directeur sportif for IAM Cycling at the race: The GP de Wallonie is a challenging race, and we will have some riders coming to Belgium directly from the Vuelta, or just returning from the two races in Québec and Montréal. Several of the guys have recently shown themselves to be in good shape, but we must admit that we dont have anyone who is a specialist on a final like what well find here at the Citadel of Namur. Our goal will be to do our best to influence the race before the final climb so that we will be in with a chance to fight for the win at the end.
THE DIFFICULTY
There are multiple challenging climbs throughout the GP de Wallonie. During the 205.5 kilometers the peloton will trace from Beaufays to Namur, there are six côtes to scale before the race will be decided almost certainly in the final three kilometers that will climb up to the famous Citadel of Namur. The chances of a mass sprint are pretty low. The last time the GP de Wallonie was decided in a sprint was back in 2009.
LINE-UP Grand Prix de Wallonie
Race Pictures – BettiniPhoto