Tour of Austria – Stage 4 – Thomas Degand – I’m still missing a few days of racing, but I feel better and better –

After enduring scorching temperatures throughout the last few days of racing, the peloton at the Tour of Austria enjoyed a few refreshing, short but intense, rain storms.  The effect evidently gave wings to Victor De La Parte (Team Vorarlberg) who emerged the surprise winner of the first summit finish of the race.  Jan Hirt (CCC) was nipped at the line by the Spanish rider, but that performance was good enough to take the lead in the overall classification ahead of Ben Hermans (BMC), who was third on the stage.  For IAM Cycling, the day went smoothly enough aside from the fact that Dries Devenyns (acute digestive disorders) and Sondre Holst Enger (persistent sore leg) were both forced to abandon the race.  Nevertheless, the Swiss team was able to place three of its riders, Thomas Degand, Stefan Denifl and Larry Warbasse, in the top-20 after a climb that stretched over sixteen kilometers.

Thomas Degand came into this stage with the instructions that he was to help Stefan Denifl, but also given the freedom to play his own card on the final climb. Degand followed these guidelines to the letter, and ended up coming into the finish in 11th place just 52 seconds behind the stage winner.  “The pace of the race was quite fast, especially during the first hour before the break was established,” the Belgian Degand explained.  “Then the peloton settled into a controlled pace since there were only three riders off the front, and we knew we’d have to have a lot of reserves in order to complete the full 210 kilometers.  We climbed quickly and the group started to thin out at the rear.”  

“I was still with Stefan Denifl in the front group of 15 to 20 riders.  With two kilometers to go, there were many attacks, and then we found ourselves in the second group.  I tried to bridge the gap, but we were both on our limit, so we finished as well as we could.  For my part, I think I am missing a few good days of racing in my legs since I had that injury earlier in the season, but I feel better and better.  I hope this bodes well for the future.”

Agreeing with his rider, Kjell Carlström also sees today’s performance as a good omen for the Swiss team.  “For Wednesday’s stage, I think our riders were just missing a little bit of explosiveness in their climbing,” the directeur sportif Carlström confided.  “They were with the strongest right up till the end, so I am not worried about what will happen in the next days.  We will try our best all the time, and luck can go our way at any moment.  We will of course give everything we can in the next mountain stages, particularly on Friday, but we will not forget that a breakaway can also have the chance to get away, and make it to the finish, so we will have to remain vigilant right through till Sunday.”

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