09 August 2016
IAM Cycling
THE EXCLAMATION
From Jérôme Coppel. The Tour de l’Ain is a great race to start my farewell to competition with complete serenity.
THE INFO
On August 24th, Jérôme Coppel will have an operation on his left wrist that will stop the pain caused by an inflammation to the bone. The surgery will put an end to his season, and will signal the culmination of a career that he started in 2008 in the colors of FDJ.
THE EXPLANATION
As offered again by Jérôme Coppel: My body is tired. Ive just celebrated my 30th birthday, but I started competing professionally already 15 years ago as a cross-country skier. After reflection, I have decided to pull the plug because cycling has become too difficult of a sport to compete in if you cannot be always at 100%. If I had the opportunity to sign for another year with IAM Cycling, I would continue, but I am just not prepared to start new with another team, in spite of the fact that I did receive offers from other World Tour teams. Ive had a good season, and I am ready to finish in style, and in a race practically in my own backyard.
THE ANALYSIS
This is the type of race that never crowns a second-tier winner, commented Thierry Marichal, one of the two directeurs sportifs for IAM Cycling at the race, along with Rubens Bertogliati. We will aim primarily to get a stage win with the knowledge that that winner can also do very well in the overall classification. There should be at least one sprint stage, but then there are also the mountains. We will not put pressure on Dries Devenyns since he has come primarily to fine-tune his form for the Vuelta. But with guys like Marcel Wyss and Jérôme Coppel, we have real assets, while we are also bringing Jonas Van Genechten for the sprints.
LINE-UP Tour de lAin
Pictures – BettiniPhoto & IAM Cycling
