28 April 2016
IAM Cycling
THE EXPLANATION
This is good for my confidence, Mathias Frank commented while he was beginning his recovery after a hard stage. I have to thank my teammates who really did do everything possible to put me in a perfect position as we were approaching the final two climbs. Looking back, I am almost disappointed that I did not try my luck also when Zakarin and Quintana attacked. But I would have been risking exploding at the end.
THE FACT OF THE DAY
The perfect passing of the baton between Marcel Wyss and Mathias Frank on the last meters of the ascent of the Champs. Wyss had been in the escape since the tenth kilometer of the stage, and managed to stay in the lead in order to act as a bridgehead for his leader, and to take him onto the descent in the direction of Troistorrents.
THE ESCAPEE
Marcel Wyss. The IAM Cycling climber perfectly understood and executed his instructions from Rik Verbrugghe and Thierry Marichal, the directeurs sportifs for the Swiss professional team at Romandie. I accelerated on a little climb in a village that had lost of turns, and then was just gone. But I never imagined we would make it first to the finish.
THE QUOTE
To say I am happy today is putting it mildly, Rik Verbrugghe, the sports manager for the Swiss World Tour team explained. Even though Mathias Frank isnt happy with his result considering the fact he had great legs which is a good sign the team worked perfectly. Everything went as expected: we had a man in the break and then the other teammates were there to help place Mathias Frank beautifully before the final.
THE NUMBER
14 – The number of places that Mathias Frank gained in the overall classification on account of his 8th place at the arrival in Morgins. That result means that he has moved up to 6th place, just 37 seconds behind the overall leader, Nairo Quintana (Movistar). Quintana took the stage and the lead of this 70th Tour of Romandie after Ilnur Zakarin crossed the line first, but was relegated on account of sprinting irregularly.
MENU FOR THE DAY
Friday will see the 15.1 kilometer time trial in Sion, which promises to be a hotly contested event. The day will not necessarily be a walk-over for the rouleurs since there are no fewer than 280 meters worth of climbing to negotiate.
Race Pictures – BettiniPhoto
