Mario Chiesa: «The Vuelta is less stressful than the Tour»

The nine IAM Cycling riders scheduled to race the Tour of Spain have been in Spain since Wednesday.  They have enjoyed a bit of the beach life with temperatures reaching the low 90s F (32° C).  In spite of the heat, they have also been focusing on daily two hour training rides including reconnoitering the team time trial course around Jerez de la Frontera.  Medical check-ups diligently completed by the UCI before all grand tours and the team presentation to the public also have filled the riders days immediately prior to the start of the race.

On the eve of the first stage, which is likely already to identify the key players for the 69th edition of the Vuelta, Mario Chiesa, one of the directeurs sportifs for IAM Cycling along with Marcello Albasini and Rubens Bertogliati, outlined the objectives of the Swiss Pro Continental team.

“We have studied the course which consists of five flat days versus 13 mountainous days and three time trials.  For the team time trial, we are going in with the notion of doing the absolute best time we possibly can, even though we know we do not have a rider capable of taking a place in the top-10.  We will thereafter aim for stages and we will be thrilled if we could win a stage, perhaps with Pelucchi in the sprints or with one the guys like Reynes, Saramotins, Hinault in the other punchier stages.  And why not see whether we can put Johann Tschopp in the position of fighting for the best climber’s jersey.”

Recognizing the extra difficulty of the event, Mario Chiesa is displaying an optimism that bodes well for the coming three weeks.

“The Vuelta is less stressful than the Tour de France.  We work hard so that everything can go well.  The 15 day camp at altitude in the Bernina range worked well for everyone and the subsequent victories by Pelucchi and Saramotins at the Vuelta a Burgos provided a great confirmation.  The heat will be a factor that shouldn’t be overlooked, but my biggest concern is the chance for precipitation.  If rain does hit the Vuelta, it will be very important to be careful since the roads will quickly be transformed into skating rinks.”