03 March 2015
IAM Cycling
The World Tour is back in Europe. After a trip to Australia for the Tour Down Under, the international peloton will return to France to fight at the highest levels at Paris-Nice. With two time trials, a summit finish and a stage that will invite echelons fighting the wind, the 73rd edition of the Paris-Nice will represent the first major objective for many riders this year.
Well definitely get into the thick of it, Michel Thétaz, CEO of IAM Funds and the founder of the team, confirmed. This is the first time this season that we will be so close geographically to our fan base, so we will of course be expected to perform well. With this in mind, we have put together our strongest squad, our dream team, so to speak. We will have Sylvain Chavanel, who recently showed himself well even on the hardest climbs, as well as Mathias Frank, who is naturally more comfortable in the mountains. Well also have very good road captains with Dries Devenyns and Jérôme Pineau. In any case, we know the competition at Paris-Nice will be spicy.
Nevertheless, the IAM Cycling team will not be going to the race trying to bite off more than it can chew at this point. Thétaz realizes it is important for the team to be realistic.
Paris-Nice is a race that we take very seriously. Of course we are going there trying to win, but wins can come in different forms. This is not yet the peak of the season. We are coming in the hopes particularly to see how versatile our riders are. The idea is to see how they react and perform over varied terrain. If we are in a position to play for the win, then yes, we will. But that is not our top priority, Michel Thétaz explained.
Paris-Nice (dimanche 8 mars dimanche 15 mars)
More about the race letour.com
Twitter @ParisNice
Dimanche 8 mars: Prologue à Maurepas, 6,7 km (13h35 16h23)
Lundi 9 mars: Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse – Contres, 192 km (11h 15h38)
Mardi 10 mars: ZooParc de Beauval Saint-Amand-Montrond, 172 km (11h30 16h03)
Mercredi 11 mars: Saint-Amand-Montrond Saint-Pourçan-sur-Sioule, 179 km (11h20 15h58)
Jeudi 12 mars: Varennes-sur-Allier Croix de Chaubouret, 204 km (10h15 15h46)
Vendredi 13 mars: Saint-Etienne – Rasteau, 192 km (11h05 16h08)
Samedi 14 mars: Vence Nice, 181,5 km (11h40 16h55)
Dimanche 15 mars: Nice Col dEze, clm individuel de 9,6 km (11h55 14h45)
Team IAM Paris-Nice
Directeurs Sportifs Rik Verbrugghe, Eddy Seigneur
Sylvain Chavanel
Dries Devenyns
Mathias Frank
Heinrich Haussler
Jérôme Pineau
Vicente Reynes
David Tanner
Jonas Van Genechten