Tour de France – Stage 21 – Michel Thétaz – We will come back in 2016 with Mathias Frank to return to the top-10, and to win some stages –

The sun came as the final climax on Les Champs-Elysées.  Drenched earlier in the day, the riders were able to enjoy their laps around the most beautiful avenue in the world without being required to take too many risks.  And in the final battle among the sprinters, André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) came out on top for his fourth win in the race. Meanwhile, Christopher Froome (Sky) succeeded in securing his second overall victory in the Tour de France in spite of Nairo Quintana’s (Movistar) best efforts on Alpe d’Huez. 

For its part, IAM Cycling was able to show itself once again thanks to a flamboyant attack by Sylvain Chavanel once the pack hit the Champs, while Mathias Frank celebrated his fantastic 8th place.  Frank managed to hit his target of cracking the top-10, becoming the first Swiss rider since 1999 (when Alex Zülle was 2nd and Laurent Dufaux was 4th) to do so. 

On hand to congratulate his riders and staff, Michel Thétaz, the founder of IAM Cycling and CEO of IAM Funds, completely enjoyed this result along with the rest of his staff experiencing the heavy rain at the team bus. He was happy to take stock of the team’s performance in the race as a whole.  “We achieved the goal we set early on in this season which we reiterated at the start of the race.  My group of riders showed themselves to be strong and at the front often, which was topped with a fantastic 3^rd place from Pantano in Gap and a 6^th place in the team time trial.  The guys have really applied themselves and worked hard to help Frank earn his 8^th place in the overall.  We will come back in 2016 with Mathias Frank to return to the top-10, and win some stages.  As our leader, Frank has extended his contract, and we are confident that he will live up to all our expectations.”

Just before joining his wife, Mathias Frank discussed his concerns before the start of the final stage, and the joy he felt when arriving on the Champs-Elysées.  “I went through all the moods this morning.  I did not sleep well last night because of my crash yesterday.  And when I got on my bike, I had to bite the bullet.  I was nervous because the road was very slippery due to the rain.  I really did not want to fail having come so close to the goal.  In the end, everything went well, and the sun came out in time to dry up the roads.  I even was able to savor those last laps amid that incredible atmosphere.  I have not regretted one second of every sacrifice I have made to get here.  After two failed attempts, I managed to meet the challenge and finish in the top-10.  This is a great accomplishment for the whole team, who was a huge help to me and believed in me.  I am not about to forget these moments of emotion once I climb off my bike.”