29 April 2016
IAM Cycling
THE QUOTE
I am disappointed especially when I feel so good, Jérôme Coppel explained after taking an excellent 5th place in the time trial won by Thibaut Pinot (FDJ). The route was perfect for me, but also obviously suited others. I came in with almost the exact same time as Jungels, Froome and Quintana, since we were all separated by just hundredths of a second. Already this season I have lost the Sarthe time trial by 30 hundredths of a second, but now to have lost by 66 hundredths would have been huge. That will not stop me from looking forward, and I hope to be able to be fit still to help Mathias Frank on Saturday for the queen stage.
THE EXPLANATION
Taking a strong 19th place in a discipline that is far from his specialty, Mathias Frank talked calmly and soberly about his performance. The strong headwind blowing during the initial kilometers made things a little tough and disturbed the rhythm. Fortunately I found a good flow after that, and had my legs for the demanding climb. Then I managed to finish strongly by giving my maximum on that high-speed descent. I can be satisfied with the thought that I did not lose my place (6th) in the general classification.
THE FACT OF THE DAY
IAM Cycling, the only Swiss World Tour team, displayed remarkable depth in the days time trial. Four of its riders finished in the top-25: Jérôme Coppel (5th), Dries Devenyns (14th), Mathias Frank (19th) and Reto Hollenstein (21st).
THE WEATHER
Though the sun came out and allowed the mercury to climb to 17 degrees during the best part of the day, which was a great improvement compared to the prologue conditions in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the wind was nevertheless very strong and disturbed the tranquility of the riders with gusts up to more than 35km/h.
THE NUMBER
40 – That is the number of seconds Mathias Frank must gain on Ilnur Zakarin during Saturdays queen stage if he wants to earn himself a podium position at that end of the Tour of Romandie in Geneva on Sunday afternoon.
Pictures – IAM
