14 July 2016
IAM Cycling
THE EXCLIMATION
From Stef Clement who took a fantastic 4th place when he crossed the line at Chalet Reynard just behind stage winner Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal): A chance like this only comes once in a career.
THE EXPLANATION
Moved to tears, the IAM Cycling road captain commented about his day while he was still riding the trainer to cool down after the exhausting day. I had not planned to go in the break. I was interested in guarding some reserves for Fridays time trial. But finally I was in the right place, and so I went for it. We worked well together. And on the climb, I rode at my own pace. Losing a mountain stage by so few seconds is actually really annoying. Personally, I paid for the efforts we made on Tuesday when we were working behind the break.
THE FACT OF THE DAY
The indelible image of yellow jersey Chris Froome (Sky) running without his bike in order to save seconds ahead of the group of favorites after he crashed due to a jam-up caused by a motorbike will long remain memorable from todays stage.
THE WEATHER
The winds were ever-present and constantly worked to split the peloton throughout the stage. Given that, the decision that the organizers made to shorten the length of the stage by cutting off the top 6 km of the Mont Ventoux climb made real sense. At the top of the Bald Mountain, the wind gusted up over 140 km/h during the day.
THE ANALYSIS
According to Rik Verbrugghe. We try every day to be always aggressive and to make an impression on this Tour de France. Today, Stef Clement had a good race. It doesnt take much to see just what he managed to accomplish. And IAM Cycling will continue to try its luck since winning out of a breakaway is the only way well be able to accomplish our goal of taking a stage victory.
THE PAYOFF
1500 – In Euros, that is the sum that Stef Clement earned for his 4th place on the day.
THE MENU OF THE DAY
A 37.5 kilometer hilly time trial will serve as the first real defining battle for the yellow jersey before the race returns to the mountains on Saturday.
Race Pictures – BettiniPhoto
