IAM Cycling will start their 2014 season on February 2nd at the GP Cycliste la Marseillaise. As preparation for the one-day race, the team has been at a training camp on the Spanish island of Mallorca. At the training camp, the whole team including team managers Marcello Albasini, Rubens Bertogliati, Kjell Carlstrom and Eddy Seigneur is now ready for the season.

Kevyn Ista spent most of his last season on the sideline due to injuries sustained in a heavy crash in Tour of the Mediterranean. He is now back on the cycle and is very enthusiastic and satisfied with his form at the moment of the season.

“I definitely need to be strong at the beginning of the season since I will be starting at the Tours of Qatar and Oman.  There will certainly be opportunities there for me.  So much so that I did not spare myself, like all the rest of the guys, during this camp.  We benefited from much better conditions this time compared to last year when it rained almost every day.  This time, we were always able to ride without having to worry about the rain.  And of course the atmosphere was excellent as usual.  The new guys have immediately found their place.  IAM Cycling remains a big family.”

Team manager Marcello Albasini praised his riders with the work they have done so far and thinks that the winter program this year has allowed the riders to obtain a good form.

“The guys rode more than 1200 kilometers, averaging about 4.5 hours a day.  All went well, even if for some of the guys the tasks were not simple.  The program was based on building endurance with intensity levels higher than last year.  In fact, the mild winter, in contrast to last year, allowed everyone to be better prepared for this important team training session.  I imagine it is a similar case for all other teams as well.  The level of the first races should then be more balanced.  But I do not want to daydream,” he said.

He can also say that the newcomers of the team have become a part of the team.

“We must continue to work hard to be on top throughout the season.  Like the other team directors, I am pleased to see the great atmosphere that still reigns within this team.  Especially satisfying is to see how well the new recruits are fitting in without any problems.  It makes it easy to recognize that guys like Sylvain Chavanel, Jérôme Pineau, Roger Kluge, Mathias Frank and Vicente Reynes are not only great champions on the road but also in the daily life of a team.”