Volta a Portugal – Marcel Wyss: «I climbed at my own pace»

“I rode at my own pace.  There was nothing else to do because the Portuguese were climbing like airplanes.  Unfortunately, I could not hold on as well as I expected.  I was crippled with cramps in the last five kilometers.”

Before heading to take a refreshing shower, Marcel Wyss spoke frankly about the difficult time he had during the queen stage of the Tour of Portugal that finished at the summit of Alto da Torre.

“The climb was a lot hotter than the first two.  I hung in there even if we were doing an average of 33 km/h.  And finishing in tenth place 1’13” behind the winner is not too bad considering the problems I had in the final.  Now I am in the top 10 (8^th 2’02” in arrears), but the podium is still the target; it will be a complicated matter trying to reach my goal.  Tomorrow in the time trial I will have to shift into high gear.”

Kjell Carlström, one of the present directeurs sportif for IAM Cycling, can look back with satisfaction at the end of the day, which was won by the Spaniard Gustavo Veloso (OFM), with the Portuguese Rui Sousa (Efapel) in the lead.

“Today was really at the upper end in terms of difficulty, but we stuck it out.”  The team managed to protect and assist its leader throughout the stage.  Aleksejs Saramotins jumped in the day’s main break to keep his teammates from having to waste energy in the chase.  And on the final descent before the deciding climb, Reto Hollenstein and Patrick Schelling were able to rejoin the front group to provide support and bring water to their leader, Wyss.”

Kjell Carlström is not yet ready to admit victory may be outside the realm of possibility for Wyss.

“If Marcel recovers well and has a super day tomorrow, then I can definitely believe in his chances.  The route for the time trial is anything but straight forward, with a succession of ups and downs.  It will really provide the moment of truth to decide the whole race.”