Tour of Oman – Stage 1 – Matteo Pelucchi «I made the mistake of not following Jonas Van Genechten longer»

Matteo Pelucchi is in great shape this season.  The IAM Cycling sprinter finished 3^rd in the first stage of the Tour of Oman.  Pelucchi’s compatriot Andrea Guardini (Astana) managed to win the sprint and as a result takes over the leader’s jersey atop the general classification. 

For the 26 year old Pelucchi, the races are flying by and have thus far had a similar appearance.  As evidence, he raced in the two sprint stages of the Trofeo Playa de Palma two weeks ago, and succeeded in winning both.

Before heading to his recuperative massage after the day was raced in 35 degree temperatures, Pelucchi remained grounded in reviewing his 3^rd place. 

“I am very happy with my sprint even though I made the mistake of not following Jonas Van Genechten long enough.  I thought he had given everything; I had no idea that he still had some speed left to give me.  But today we start our collaboration and we are on track towards finding the perfect way to work together.  Maybe the second stage we will be able to play for the win since there is a slight climb before the finish.  Apart from that, the sprint was very hard.  When I crossed the line, I was spent, but if I had placed myself better I certainly would have been playing for the win.”

Pelucchi has established himself in Switzerland in recent years and has also welcomed having such a successful start to the season. 

“Finishing three times on the podium in my first three races suits me fine, because I know I will not have that treat every race.  But thanks to all the hard work I did over the winter, I know I am on the right track.”

After the race, Eddy Seigneur, the directeur sportif for IAM Cycling, praised the performance of his rider. 

“For the confidence of the team, we could not have asked for a better kick off.  Due to the layout of this first stage, we bet on Matteo despite the false flat which stretched about 300 meters.  The team was at his service and Jonas Van Genechten was well placed.  Then it all went perfectly to get Matteo a podium place given the incline. We hope to do at least as well for the second stage, even if there is a small climb less than five kilometers from the finish.  And even if Matteo doesn’t quite make it over in the front, we can still count on Jonas.”