IAM The Hour Record Man – Matthias Brändle

IAM Cycling finished its 2014 season on a high note with Matthias Brändle setting the prestigious UCI Hour Record of 51.852 kilometers

 “It will take me a few days to realize what has happened.  But I have just experienced one of the best days of my life.  To beat the UCI Hour Record time has been a dream of the past few months, and I managed to make it my own. I want to thank IAM Cycling, Michel Thétaz, Scott bikes and all the people who have done so much in the past few weeks to help me meet this challenge.”

Having just dismounted from his bike and recovered from his hour long effort, Matthias Brändle (24) made certain that the first thing he did was acknowledge and thank all those who helped him accomplish his goal of setting the new prestigious UCI Hour Record mark of 51.852 kilometers.  On September 18, Jens Voigt, Brändle’s role model and idol, set the most recent record of 51.115 kilometers on the velodrome at Grenchen.  As a response, Brändle took to the 200 meter track at the World Cycling Center in Aigle on October 30^th, in front of over 900 enthusiastic fans, which included Brian Cookson, President of the UCI, Michel Thétaz, founder of IAM Cycling and CEO of IAMFUNDS.CH, and Philippe Leuba, the Vaud stat councilor.  His efforts ensured that his name would be among the great champions of the sport including Coppi, Rivière, Anquetil, Merckx as well as Boardman who have succeeded in bettering the Hour Record time.

Racing on a velodrome for the first time in his career and riding his heart out in front of many fans who came from his home region of Vorarlberg, Austria, Matthias Brändle succeeded in pushing his limits to help IAM Cycling finish off a very successful year on an even greater high.  Nevertheless, the Austrian rider confessed, as have all those who have made the attempt before, that he suffered throughout a great deal of the event.

“It was not easy to get to the point where I can savor this moment.  Even if I had a good start and I managed to meet my time goals for the first 35 minutes, I then started really to suffer from cramps in the thighs.  It was hot and I was unable to drink, which complicated my task.  I did not panic, however.  The good feelings came back in time for the final portion and I managed to accomplish my goal.  It’s important to know where to be careful.  I am really happy to be able to join the list with the great champions who have accomplished this.  From here I will go on holiday for two weeks and travel around the roads of my region on my motorbike.  Then I will start the preparation for the 2015 season where I hope to be included on the Tour of Romandie and Tour de France teams.”

For his part, Michel Thétaz, founder of IAM Cycling and CEO of IAMFUNDS.CH, was no less happy and emotionally moved by his rider’s exploit before toasting with champagne.

“I was really pulsating throughout this hour.  And on balance, I’d say his mission was accomplished through the hard work of the team and of course through Matthias’ extraordinary performance.  Even if he was not quite able to break the barrier of 52 kilometers, Matthias still wrote his name forever among the owners of this prestigious record.  And the positive consequences for IAM Cycling will be manifold.  This has already boosted the team’s morale very high for next season among all the riders.  I could have not hoped for better to close a season where we won our first WorldTour event.”