The IAM Cycling jersey was on show for much of the first stage of the 4 Days of Dunkirk, which in the end was won by Arnaud Démare (FDJ.fr). The Swiss Pro Continental team, working in harmony, blasted the pace on the windswept, narrow roads that lead into the final few kilometers of the stage.

 

On the final 12 kilometer circuit that the race covered twice, Dominic Klemme tried his hand at an attack to create a diversion; taking a handful of seconds, he made the sprinters’ teams work hard to bring him back. Then it was Sylvain Chavanel, winner of this race in 2002 and 2004, who tried his luck with an attack six kilometers from the finish. He had a good dig, but it was not enough to grab the bouquet at the finish line in Coudekerque-Branche. 

 

Michel Thétaz, the founder of IAM Cycling, appreciated the spirit he saw in his team during this challenging day. 

 

“We had to react.  We could not just rest on the mixed results we had during the classics.  I am happy to see the work that everyone is putting in and I hope that we will continue in this direction.

 

"I also want to emphasize that we have at the beginning of this week brought in some reinforcements on the director’s side, due to the hectic schedule.  Mario Chiesa has agreed to join the ranks of our directeurs sportifs in order to help the team, according to his availability.  We’ll clarify just how much that will be in the coming weeks when we see what our needs are.”

 

Eddy Seigneur, working as the other directeur sportif on the 4 Days of Dunkirk, was satisfied with his squad’s work today.

 

“We saw that with the presence of eight riders in the main group, we had to ride. And even if Matteo Pelucchi (6th) came up a bit short, we also had Roger Kluge (10th) and Sylvain Chavanel in the top 15.

 

"This bodes well for the rest of the race knowing that there will be something to challenge us on Thursday with the pavés d’Orchies.  The sector measure 1,700 meters and will be repeated three time.  And as wind and rain are on the forecast, it will be important to ride as well as we did today. But seeing how we are performing, I strongly believe in our chances.”