07 September 2014
IAM Cycling
After John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) came away with yesterdays sprint finish, the punchy climbers were looking forward to tackling terrain closer to their strengths today. In this game, Daniel Navarro (Cofidis) came out on top by out-smarting the rest starting at the foot of the final small climb. With his lead never in danger throughout the day, Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) defended his red jersey in the Tour of Spain with ease.
IAM Cyclings bad luck from the day before carried over to today with Vicente Reynes being the best-placed rider from the Pro Continental Swiss team, in 53rd place, 51 seconds behind the winner. Before boarding the bus, Reynes simply said, This finish was just too hard for me.
With three kilometers to go to the finish, Jonathan Fumeaux found himself well-placed with the group of favorites, but ended up not having enough gusto to keep up with the best. Fumeaux ended up finishing 156 in arrears, in 70th place. The punchy climber from the Valais region of Switzerland frankly confessed his failure.
I am disappointed with my final. Early in the stage, I felt really good. I did not manage to get into the main breakaway that included eleven guys. But we rode à bloc throughout the day, either at the front or at the back, even over the three climbs of the day. To prove it, we had an average speed of 43 km/hr. But as the day went on, I was feeling worse and worse. Finally, the last climb proved too much. Its a shame because there are not so many of these opportunities for me. I certainly hope I will be able to take my chance before the end of the Vuelta. Im really motivated to have the chance to fight for a win when I am in a good position near the finish.
A further point of frustration for the team came early when Marcel Aregger was able to force himself in among the large breakaway, but due to the extremely high pace, was unable to hold onto the wheels, and eventually drifted back into the main group.
