30 April 2016
IAM Cycling
THE RECKONING
I made a mistake, Mathias Frank claimed, having just emerged from a warming shower and consuming a hot drink. On the first climb to Villars, I felt comfortable and I gave my jacket to a teammate to take care of. I had no expectation that the temperature would drop so quickly and so low. On the descent to Ollon, the rain just penetrated me, and on the second climb to Villars, I was frozen. I tried to turn the legs, but I really suffered with each acceleration.
THE EXPLANATION
Before his attack, which would result in his winning the stage, Chris Froome asked me if I was up for an attack, Mathias Frank admitted. But to my mind, the finish was still too far away, and Movistar still had a lot of riders to chase. I just did not feel strong enough to try my luck.
THE ANALYSIS
Rik Verbrugghe did not hide his frustration when summarizing the day. We started with a strategy to go on the offensive for the finale. We did not succeed in doing that, largely because Movistar was setting a super-fast pace. Mathias managed to limit the damage through sheer courage. He suffered enormously from the cold and rain, and was beginning to have a hunger knock.
THE NUMBER
2 – That is the number of places that Mathias Frank lost in the overall standings. After the queen stage, he is now in 8th place. The leader of the Swiss World Tour team has been overtaken by Rui Costa and Simon pilak, but only by a handful of seconds.
THE MENU OF THE DAY
The final stage leading into Geneva will not be super simple, especially if the weather gets involved to the extent it did on Saturday. With 1808 meters of vertical drop, not to mention the climbing of the Col du Mollendruz, the remaining riders in the peloton for this 70th Tour of Romandie will have to mobilize all their remaining strength.
Pictures – IAM
