Mission accomplished for Johann Tschopp and IAM Cycling

After engineering a breakaway of over 160 kilometers on the penultimate stage of the Paris-Nice, Johann Tschopp succeeded in hammering his stamp on the race’s King of the Mountains jersey. As one of eleven escapees, the man from the Valais region had the luxury of picking off the top spot in four of the five categorized climbs, two of which threw off first category points. With thirty-three additional points scored on the day, Tschopp came away with a firm grasp on the jersey with only one more stage to finish. After all the climbing, Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma) won the sprint on a very fast run into the city of Nice, with IAM Cycling’s Heinrich Haussler well placed in the final, finishing in 8th place on the Promenade des Anglais. At the end of the day, Johann Tschopp was very pleased to have accomplished his objective for the race.

“I made the right move to get into the break and then managed to take top points over every climb except for the first little bump. If we hadn’t had two pretty dangerous riders for the GC in our group, we probably could have hoped to play for the victory. In any case, winning the climbers jersey is a great victory not only for me, but for IAM Cycling as well. We have shown the jersey throughout the week at the head of the race, and have been competitive on several levels.”

Directeur Sportif Serge Beucherie was happy to confirm Tschopp’s remarks, and well appreciates his rider’s performance. “We could have felt like this Paris-Nice had gone badly for us, but Johann’s success and the determination of the team have saved us from any such disappointment. The prologue was difficult for us with both Martin Elmiger and Heinrich Haussler taking untoward tumbles, and then our hopes were further challenged when Thomas Löfkvist and Sébastien Hinault crashed badly on Friday. Johann Tschopp’s polka dot jersey allows us to put the record straight and to prove, if there was any lingering doubt, that we really do deserve the trust and confidence that organizers have placed in us.”