Tour de France – Rik Verbrugghe «We come with an opportunistic team eager to win at least one stage and protect a rider for the GC»

The Tour de France is on the horizon and will kick off with the sixth Dutch Grand Depart in the history of the race.  The second three week tour on the calendar, the Tour de France will begin on Saturday, July 4^th, with a time trial of 13.8 kilometers through the streets of Utrecht.  Twelve days before the start of the team’s major objective of the season, IAM Cycling has named the nine riders who will carry the colors of the Swiss professional squad in the biggest race of the year.

Sports manager, Rik Verbrugghe took care to explain the choices the management made in selecting their riders after speaking together with Michel Thétaz, the founder of IAM Cycling and the CEO of IAM Funds.  “We talked at length to find the right mix of riders.  As always, the choice has been difficult.  We come with an opportunistic team that is eager to win at least one stage and to protect a rider for the general classification.  Mathias Frank has recovered from his sinusitis that he suffered from at the Critérium du Dauphiné, and will be our strong man for the general classification.”

“We will do everything we can to allow him to be as efficient as possible throughout the big event in July.  To help him achieve his goals, we have decided to go without a pure sprinter who would be likely to shine in the first week.  Jonas van Genechten is designated first reservist.  This means that we will focus primarily on the second and third weeks.”

“But still, we will remain attentive with riders like Sylvain Chavanel, our rouleur-puncheur, who will have the status that will allow him to attack whichever stages he fancies. We also have wonderfully experienced riders like Stef Clement and Martin Elmiger who will act as road captains throughout the stages. Matthias Brändle and Reto Hollenstein will fill the roles as the team’s rouleurs.  And then finally, we have Jérôme Coppel, Jarlinson Pantano, and Marcel Wyss who will apply their climbing skills towards helping Mathias Frank, who like last year, will be aiming for a place in the top-10.”

Tour de France (Saturday, July 4^th to Sunday, July 26^th)

More information about the race http://www.letour.fr
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Team IAM Cycling Tour de France

Sports Manager Rik Verbrugghe

Directeurs sportifs Mario Chiesa, Eddy Seigneur

Matthias Brändle (Aut)

Sylvain Chavanel (Fr)

Stef Clement (Ned)

Jérôme Coppel (Fr)

Martin Elmiger (S)

Mathias Frank (S)

Reto Hollenstein (S)

Jarlinson Pantano (Col)

Marcel Wyss (S)