19 September 2013
IAM Cycling
The Tour of Britain is for strong men. Only the giants of the road can find the strength to withstand such adverse elements.
While torrential rain, blustery wind and cold temperatures have plagued the riders since the Scottish start on Sunday, the IAM Cycling team has six riders still able to show their skill against the clock in the 16 kilometer time trial won in the end by Sir Bradley Wiggins.
In front of an enthusiastic audience, in spite of the dismal conditions, the Olympic time trial champion hit the daily double by winning the stage and taking the overall lead, having paid no attention to the monkeys, elephants, and other wild animals looking on in the zoo located between Liverpool and Manchester.
The consistency of IAM riders throughout the tour, with Matteo Pelucchi (5th in stage 1) and Thomas Löfkvist (3rd in stage 2), was continued with another strong ride in the stage 3 time trial where Martin Elmiger put in an excellent 4th place effort, which moved him up to 3rd place on the overall classification. Elmiger, a recent winner of the Tour du Limousin, has his sights set on securing a top position, especially in the queen stage coming on Friday which arrives at the Haytor summit.
I felt comfortable from the beginning to the end, in spite of the cold weather. I did not take any risks in the soaked curves and corners. In fact, I found it a disadvantage not to have the riders ahead in focus. On this course, there was time to catch the wake of the guys who were slower. I am very happy with my result and place. When I saw my rank, I was ready to sign up for a place on the podium, but of course there is still a lot of work to do before Sundays finish in London.
It is important to make note of Sébastien Reichenbachs excellent 24th place since it signals a personal best for the young rider: he lost only six seconds to his teammate Thomas Löfkvist (19th), and finished eight seconds faster than Marcel Wyss (29th).
All images by Gruber Images
