11 September 2016
IAM Cycling
THE BALANCE SHEET
According to Michel Thétaz, founder of IAM Cycling: Winning a stage was already an ambitious goal. But after the heroics and success the team already had at the Giro dItalia, Tour de Suisse and Tour de France, we decided to place the bar pretty high. Happily we met this challenge with great success. Of course, the victories for Jonas Van Genechten and Mathias Frank are most prominent in our minds. But beyond that, the team more generally was very present and taking places of honor, for example with the excellent performances from Dries Devenyns.
THE NOSTALGIA
The Vuelta is the last three week tour of the season. And this Vuelta in particular is the last grand tour in the IAM Cycling story, Michel Thétaz continued. So obviously, we cannot help but to have a heavy heart. And to conclude this extraordinary adventure, we could not have asked for anything more. The whole season has been remarkable. This certainly gave us visibility, credibility, and a media response that we wanted to have.
THE NUMBER
85 – That is the number of top-5 finishes that the Swiss team has accumulated since the beginning of the 2016 season. Seven of them came in the Vuelta, with the highlight being two stage wins from Jonas Van Genechten and Mathias Frank.
THE TEAM SPIRIT
On the streets of Madrid, Eddy Seigneur, directeur sportif alongside Mario Chiesa and Marcello Albasini, emphasized the solidarity felt within the group of IAM Cycling riders throughout this Vuelta. The team has been competitive every day, retaining a real team spirit, Seigneur explained. The team moto was: have fun. This was a great source of motivation, but also provided a lot of cohesion within the group. I congratulate my riders for their bravery.
THE DISAPPOINTMENT
Of Jonas Van Genechten. I am disappointed with my last sprint, the Belgian fast-man conceded. I did not make the best tactical choice. The team and especially Simon Pellaud did an exemplary job to put me in the best position. I wanted to say thank you to all of them by bringing in another victory. But I am not all about disappointment tonight. We all rode a great Vuelta. With two stage wins as well as several podiums and strong individual performances, that is everything we need to remember.
THE SADNESS
Of Simon Pellaud: This might be my last race, the young rider from the Valais region of Switzerland said at the finish of the stage. Tired and powerless, the former Swiss U23 champion gave his maximum every day of the Vuelta in the hope of winning a contract for the 2017 season.
Race Pictures – BettiniPhoto
