Sébastien Hinault: «The Tour of Portugal is the highest level»

A mass sprint put a cap on the Tour of Portugal.

Though the day was won by the young American Jacob Keough (United Healthcare) after a 130 kilometer race of 7 laps around a twisty 6 kilometer course in Viseu, IAM Cycling’s Sébastien Hinault grabbed himself an encouraging 5^th place.

As the team’s experienced road captain, he was full of praise when talking about the event.

“Today Reto Hollenstein helped me up to the flamme rouge, and then I had to go it a little bit alone in the end.  I am happy to have fulfilled my task.  The Tour of Portugal is raced at the highest level, and with the exception of the first and the last days, there was always a lot of work to do.  Every day we were climbing between 2500 and 4000 meters in altitude with the added pressure of extreme heat to deal with.  For the experienced riders on the team, it was excellent preparation for the end of the season, and for the young riders, it was excellent experience to tally 10 days of stage racing.”

Directeur Sportif Kjell Carlström reiterated Hinault’s sentiments:

“The team proved it has the heart to put in the effort under difficult conditions.  We arrived as a full team at the end of this tour.  And in addition to the strong stage finishes we gathered throughout the event, we are very proud to have Marcel Wyss finish in the top 10 overall with 7^th place.  For the younger guys on the team, to have had the chance to defend Marcel’s yellow jersey for a couple of stages was a great experience.” 

For his part, Marcel Wyss could be satisfied with his race, though he could not completely kick off a hint of regret.

“I was aiming for a top 10 in this event before we started.  So that means I effectively did reach my goal with this 7^th place.  But I think that I definitely could have finished better.  I am not quite satisfied, but I can live with the result.  I finished without having to dip into my reserves so my form will certainly be improving for the end of the season.  Next I am going to go train at altitude and prepare for my next two major objectives: the Tour of Britain and especially the Tour of Lombardy.”