14 March 2014
IAM Cycling
IAM Cycling continues to earn a lot of exposure at Paris-Nice.
And that is not only because the fans and users of a website voted the IAM Cycling jersey the best design in the professional peloton.
Now, though that he has disregarded any ambitions for the overall victory, Sylvain Chavanel has made it a point of honor to grab as much out of this race as possible, and that includes fighting for the polka dot jersey as the best climber, which he currently holds.
Chavanel, who has won the French time trial championships five times, joined a late-forming breakaway in order to secure points on the final climbs.
Meanwhile, under the guidance of directeurs Rubens Bertogliati and Eddy Seigneur, Chavanels teammates behind him were working to defend the positions of Stefan Denifl and Sébastien Reichenbach, who are both still very well placed in the general classification.
Already showing his good form in stage five, Stefan Denifl is keen to make use of his excellent condition. The Austrian rider explained his situation heading into the final two stages of the event.
I want a top-10 in Nice. I feel great and I love this race. Last year I already was going well here, but the terrible weather thwarted my plans. Not to mention that this year I have shed 5 kilos and that has had an enormous effect on my performance. Probably everything will be still to play for on Sunday.
Having crested the brutal climb of Fayence in 9th place, and sitting 10th overall, Denifl, who hails from the Tyrolean mountains, was quick to acknowledge the help of his teammates.
Mathias Frank was always on hand to make sure that Sébastien Reichenbach and I were well placed. For my part, I attacked twice, but I never managed to make the final break. With 800 kilometers to go, I decided to anticipate the attacks so that I could take the wheel of the punchy climbers, but that did not work in the end. I still finished with the favorites, and I will be trying everything to improve my standing.
