8th on Paris-Bourges, Vicente Reynes «I’m confident going into Paris-Tours»

John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) left no one in doubt of who was the fastest at the finish of the Paris-Bourges.  The German sprinter won in commanding fashion as he slipped cleanly through the ménage of the last corner, in the company of riders from IAM Cycling.

The Swiss Pro Continental team signaled its intentions throughout the race which was run under reasonable autumnal conditions.  Though rain was falling for over an hour, the race finished on dry roads.

Vicente Reynes proved himself to be the best in-form IAM Cycling rider, having taken a strong 8^th place in the sprint.  The Spanish rider, who can boast a 2^nd place finish in the recent Vuelta, regretted not being able to snag a podium position for the day.

“I’m really confident for Paris-Tours.  Heinrich Haussler and I will play for the win on Sunday.  Today I made a small mistake in the final corner leading to the straightaway.  We were in a bit of a battle with Degenkolb’s teammates and he had the last word.  However, we did a good race.  When Heinrich went in the break, we were able to sit back and watch the other guys work.  And that proved invaluable for the sprint where Sébastien Hinault, Sylvain Chavanel and Reto Hollenstein were all still fresh and able to position me.”

Mario Chiesa, directeur sportif de IAM Cycling, confirmed Reynes’ assessment for the day, while regretting the lack of a podium to show for it.

“I may be greedy, but 8^th place did not really satisfy my expectations.  We were not too far from the victory we wanted, though, and we’ll try again even harder on Sunday.  Otherwise, I am happy because the guys did do a very good race, responding to each breakaway with Hinault, Frank, Chavanel, Hollenstein and finally Haussler. I even thought maybe Heinrich would be playing for the win, but FDJ was responsible for plugging the hole and giving Giant-Shimano the chance to pull its chestnuts out of the fire.”

photos – Etienne Garnier @Velofotopro