Paris – Tours – Heinrich Haussler – This is definitely the hardest race I have ever participated in –

Dead leaves strewn all over the roads of the Paris-Tours acted as the red carpet for the riders.  Nevertheless, the yellow and orange debris on the Avenue de Grammont did not prevent Matteo Trentin (Etixx – Quick-Step) and Tosh Van der Sande (Lotto – Soudal) from going head to head in the sprint to find out who would claim the victory.  In the sprint, it was the Italian Trentin who ended up being the fastest, crossing the finish line only half a bike length ahead of his Belgian competitor. With Heinrich Haussler and Roger Kluge in the mix, IAM Cycling enjoyed the luxury of having two of its strongest riders at the head of affairs for much of the day.  Present in the main breakaway, the two riders for the Swiss professional team worked hard at the front, juggling attempts to instigate echelons and manage the frenetic pace.  In the end, after a race that averaged 50km/h over 230 kilometers, the Australian champion Haussler managed to grab a seventh place.

Paris-Tours represents the last race of the season for IAM Cycling.  And to close the year on a high, the team that was founded by Michel Thétaz, CEO of IAM Funds, actually had hoped to take the victory.  But even missing out on the final victory bouquet, Heinrich Haussler assures that there are no regrets.  “To be honest, this is definitely the hardest race I have ever participated in,” Haussler confessed.  “It was completely different from a stage in the Tour de France, for example.  We were again faced with a lot of nervousness throughout the day.  We rode flat out from the start of the day till the finish, without respite.  Judging from the profile, this classic did not seem so complicated because there are no obvious climbs, or at least nothing really tough.  But this Sunday, with the wind and the echelons, we were full gas from the start.  I did manage to finish seventh, which is not really a success, but I still don’t have any regrets. Roger Kluge did a great job for me all day.  If I’m being completely objective, we may have been missing one more rider at the front to be able to finish the job.  But when you’re facing guys like Greg Van Avermaet and Matteo Trentin, for example, I have to admit that going for the win was never going to be easy, even with more man power.  I gave it my all for this last race of the season, especially since it will be the last race I will wear this Australian champion’s jersey.  I just lacked some punch for that final climb, and unfortunately I was not able to do anything more.”

A sense of accomplishment radiated from the IAM Cycling team bus, where the riders and directeurs sportifs discussed how the day unfolded.  In spite of that, Eddy Seigneur was still unable to hide a touch of disappointment.  “We obviously would have preferred to take something slightly more positive away.  A seventh place is good, but we had envisioned a victory for this last race of the year.  So we are a little disappointed, nevertheless.  However, on the other hand, we have proved our commitment to being aggressive and influential in the race.  From the beginning, when we saw that the wind was going to be a strong side wind, we knew that we would have to be alert and vigilant about echelons and breaks in the peloton.  And we were not wrong.  The race was very hectic, and we were prepared for it.  We were able to show ourselves well as opportunistic, but in the final, freshness prevailed.”