Volta a Catalunya – Stage 1 – Simon Pellaud «I found myself on the ground I did not know what happened»

If forced to sum up the first stage of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, the word would no doubt be “surprising”.  The surprise of course was that the breakaway was allowed to survive with a 2’40” advance on the pack. Even more surprising is the name of the day’s winner, Maciej Paterski (CCC), who was among the riders in the lead group on Sunday at Milan-San Remo.  For IAM Cycling, the surprise of the day was a crash that Simon Pellaud suffered just before one of the hardest parts of the stage.  Fortunately, the young Swiss rider was still able to remount his bike and finish his first WorldTour race.

“This morning I was a little bit nervous because I am entering a little bit of an unknown world,” Simon Pellaud admitted.  “In the beginning everything went pretty well for me.  The sensations in my legs are good, and I was more or less well placed early in the race.  I tried to go in the break, but it took an hour and a half before it was established, so it was not an obvious move to make.  Then on the first climb, just a small rise, I found myself on the ground, and I did not know what had happened.  It took me almost twenty kilometers to get back into the cars, and my shoulder and elbow both hurt.  I burned a lot of gas by then.  I finished in the gruppetto, and then had the luck to be drawn out for doping control.  Needless to say, it’s been a difficult day for me, but there are six more to catch up.”   

For his first WorldTour race, the IAM Cycling racer may have hoped for a less chaotic start.  But that did not dull his acute understanding of the differences between the amateur ranks and the highest level in his profession.  “What is different is that the pack of riders are so organized.  Everyone has his place in the pack and has something specific to do.  It’s really different.  There’s no rolling to the front just to be at the front; we push there for a reason, essentially to put one of our leaders there.  You can feel that there is a special skill in a WorldTour peloton.”

Speaking of the skill of the riders, today was an instance when the three escapees managed to fight for the victory among themselves.  But according to directeur sportif Thierry Marichal, the three members of the breakaway’s current lead will not be enough to secure the overall victory for one of them.  “Bart de Clercq and Pierre Rolland are two very good climbers, but the race is not over yet,” Marichal assured.  “I think the lay of the land still favors the attackers.  Two of those riders, I think, will still be in the top-10 at the end of the race, so we must be wary, but the race is far from decided.”