The 2013 Tour Méditerranéen was where IAM Cycling got its first ever victory. Thomas Löfkvist won the race overall thanks to good performances in the time trial and on the Mont-Faron mountaintop finish. This year, the Swiss team returns, knowing full well that it will be difficult to defend the title.

The Tour Med will be the first race of the season for Sébastien Reichenbach: "I like the route," the rider from Valais said. "Two of the stages are around 200 kilometres, there is an 18-km time trial and a summit finish on the last day.

"Remaining vigilant is important. In the first few races of a season, everyone is nervous, and that can cause crashes within the peloton. But the overall victory will be decided on the final stage," continued Reichenbach, referring to the traditional finish atop the Mont-Faron overlooking Toulon.

Reichenbach is one of two Swiss riders in the IAM squad for the race, the other being Marcel Wyss. They are joined by Frenchmen Sylvain Chavanel and Jérôme Pineau, Austrians Matthias Brändle and Stefan Denifl, Gustav Larsson from Sweden and Aleksejs Saramotins from Latvia.

The 2014 Tour Méditerranéen will start tomorrow, 13th February, and ends on Sunday, 16th February.

IAM Cycling squad for the Tour Méditerranéen

Matthias Brändle, Sylvain Chavanel, Stefan Denifl, Gustav Larsson, Jérôme Pineau, Sébastien Reichenbach, Aleksejs Saramotins, Marcel Wyss