30 January 2015
IAM Cycling
For the second installment of the Mallorca Challenge, there was a change of scenery. After having had a pleasantly rolling course for the sprinters on Thursday, the riders were able to get their first taste of the mountains on Friday in Mallorca. And on this terrain it was Stephen Cummings (MTN – Qhubeka) who came out on top by anticipating the attack from Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) on the final slopes of the Mirador Es Colomer.
Though there were three climbs on the day, these were not the only difficulties for the riders from IAM Cycling.
It was a very fast race from the start, Rubens Bertogliati explained. For us, the goal was to have a good race, stay together, and do some good teamwork. A breakaway slipped off, but we didnt manage to join it. Our game plan from the outset was to monitor Movistar and to stay with them; thats what we did.
Despite the palpable nervousness among the members of the squad for the second round of the Mallorca Challenge, the young Clément Chevrier managed to hold his own even during the most difficult times of the stage.
There must have been about 200 riders at the bottom of the big climb of the day, the Puig Major, Chevrier said. Movistar was setting tempo, and by the top there werent more than 25 or 30 of us. I was with Jérôme Coppel in this group, but it exploded on the descent. I hung on, but honestly, I was missing a little something. I lacked freshness in the final. I had to let go about 1.5 kilometers from the finish. I was not off by much, but it makes all the difference. Yesterday we were only finished by 4.30pm and I think I was a little burnt. But anyway, we are here to work.
The troops will have to keep reminding themselves of that on the eve of another mountain stage.
