Less than two weeks after winning the queen stage of the Criterium International, Mathias Frank again underlined that he has hit a golden vein of form when he finished an excellent 7th in today's short, flat time trial, certainly not his specialty. The Swiss is now ready to strike in tomorrow's queen stage of the French race.

For the double stage day at the Circuit Cycliste Sarthe-Pays de Loire, Jonas Ahlstrand (Giant-Shimano) and Alex Dowsett (Movistar) scooped up the victories; Ahlstrand in the morning sprint and Dowsett in the afternoon 6.8 kilometer time trial.  As a result of his efforts, Dowsett, a British rider on the Spanish Movistar team, took over the yellow leader’s jersey on the eve of the queen stage, where IAM Cycling will really hope to shine. 

Indeed, Mathias Frank already put in a strong time trial performance, placing himself in a perfect position before the stage that finishes with the climb to Pré-en-Pail.  Kjell Carlström, one of the directeurs sportifs at the race, welcomed the overall performances of all his riders. 

“I saw a willing and combative team.  We managed to limit the damage on the first stages that are reserved for sprinters, and have really put in some strong performances with Frank, Larsson and Hollenstein all finishing within the top 12 for the time trial. 

"Now that Mathias Frank is sitting in 8th place overall, he is in an ideal position.  Nevertheless, we must be sure to watch out for riders like Roux, Gérard, Delaplace and Vandewalle.” 

When talking about the queen stage, Kjell Carlström speaks with respect about its challenges. 

“We have an interesting group.  We have several cards in our hands that we can play.  Perhaps we can take a place in the early break and then we will be well positioned to tackle the 2500 meter climb, which will be repeated six times.  We must be certain to manage our efforts since for the finish, there is a long false flat.”