Standing tall at 197cm (6ft 6in), Reto Hollenstein does not go unnoticed either in everyday life or on the bike.  A strong rider who has performed well in time trials and prologues, Hollenstein, who hails from the Thurgau region of Switzerland, is still chasing his first professional win. 

 

But he is not losing sleep over his lack of victories, nor is he timid when it’s time to start racing.  In fact, the 28 year old professional on the IAM Cycling team is all ready to sacrifice himself on the hilly roads of the Flèche Wallonne tomorrow before moving onto Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which will then be followed closely by the Tour of Romandie. 

 

“Of course it is a little frustrating sometimes not to be able to try your own luck.  But these days, it is nearly impossible to find a successful breakaway, even when you have a strong group of 12 guys escaping together.  The World Tour teams will always make sure that they chase down any break in the races like Amstel, Flèche or Liège. 

 

"That doesn’t mean that I won’t still try to find that perfect opportunity.  I always give the best of myself, and who knows if one of those times luck will end up on my side.  My season hasn’t been spoiled by crashes at the GP de la Cita di Stresa and then again at the Route Adélie.  It’s just been what’s happened.”      

 

Having finished 91st in the recent Amstel Gold Race, Reto Hollenstein has already clocked up 2618.3 kilometers in 16 days of racing this year.  For these Ardennes classics, as well as the upcoming start of the Tour of Romandie next Tuesday, the Swiss German already knows his mission. 

 

“We have an excellent team for these races which cater to the climbers and the versatile rouleurs.  I will put myself at the service of Frank, Wyss, Reichenbach, Fumeaux and Denifl and base everything around the race strategies that our directors give us.  It won’t be hard to be motivated since we have every chance of snatching a great win in the days to come. 

 

"Aside from a few fantastic days, we’ve been pretty unlucky since the beginning of the season.  I’m certain, though, that our bad luck can’t last forever and pretty soon we’ll start getting the results which are more in line with our potential.”

 

Riders: Mathias Frank (S), Jonathan Fumeaux (S), Reto Hollenstein (S), Pirmin Lang (S), Gustav Larsson (Su), Thomas Löfkvist (Su), Sébastien Reichenbach (S), Marcel Wyss (S).