Tour de Romandie – Etape 3 – Matthias Brändle in green and still fighting

Matthias Brändle continued his advance towards the conquest of the points jersey at the Tour of Romandie today.

At the end of the third loop around Payerne, won in a sprint finish by Gianni Meersman (Omega Pharma-Quickstep), the IAM Cycling rider was able to glean six more points in the green jersey competition by joining the day’s main break for the third consecutive stage.  With 18 points to his tally and 12 points up for grabs during Saturday’s queen stage from Marly to Diablerets, the 23 year old Austrian has all the cards in his hand that he needs to clinch the green jersey classification overall.  Indeed Saturday will be the last hurdle since the time trial in Geneva on Sunday will not figure in the race for intermediate sprint points.

Immediately after the stage, IAM Cycling Sport Manager Serge Beucherie praised his rider.

“Matthias is reading the race perfectly.  He managed to get into the right break again today and gain valuable points.  At 23, he shows great maturity and deserves to win the green jersey in Geneva.”

For his part, Matthias Brändle enjoyed gaining these extra points before stepping once again onto the podium.

“From the beginning of the stage, I was waiting for the right shot at joining the break.  I had to be patient and not waste too much energy with misfires.  Team Sky is in charge of controlling the dangerous breakaways, but I managed to grab the attacking train at the right time.  I focused on the first PMU sprint.  We drove the pace well and I accomplished my mission.  Six points are six points, and who knows if they will end up being decisive when the race is all settled.  Tomorrow, everything will depend on the composition of the breakaway that will form on the way to the Diablerets.  I’m certainly not counting my chickens before they hatch.”

IAM Cycling complete results on this stage of the Tour de Romandie