In spite of their age difference, both Marcel Aregger, 23, and Jérôme Pineau, 34, will race Paris-Roubaix for the first time this coming Sunday.  And on Thursday, the two IAM Cycling riders chewed up a lot of dust in the team’s reconnaissance over the last 100 kilometers and 18 of 27 cobblestone sections of the race, held by the ASO, the same organizer for the Tour de France.

 

As the youngest member of the Swiss Pro Continental team, Aregger admits that to ride Paris-Roubaix will be a dream-fulfillment, even if it means he was simply be acting as a bottle carrier for his leaders. 

 

“Two weeks ago at Gent-Wevelgem, I participated in my first World Tour race, and still managed to stay in the day’s main break for over 200 kilometers.  That’s how I got my ticket to the year’s greatest Monument on the spring calendar.  It’s amazing.  I never imagined this would be the case earlier in the season.  I am super motivated to help my teammates.” 

 

On the reconnaissance, the young Swiss rider hailing from Zug was happy to acquaint himself a little with the French pavé.

 

“If you compare them, the Flanders pavé are like well-paved highways.  Here the cobbles are much worse and uneven.  I learned a lot just today. 

 

"I was positioned incorrectly on my bike early in the day which made me very tense on my handlebars.  Both Eddy Seigneur and Dominic Klemme spotted it.  They figured out how to correct me.  I guess I would not have lasted long like that.  So I was able to ride more supplely and absorb the shocks with my shoulders. 

 

"After that, my day went well aside from a puncture in the Arenberg forest.  I am really looking forward to riding on that stretch in the heat of the moment on Sunday with a pack of 200 guys around.  That will be a great moment.”   

 

In spite of the fact that Jérôme Pineau has 11 years of experience on his young teammate, he is no less enthusiastic about his first time at l’Enfer du Nord. 

 

“It was really cool and I found my feet.  Things may be different during the race because we don’t always have the luxury of choosing the ideal path.  But I am very happy to do something new and participate in one of the legendary races of the sport. How to find the traction while putting maximum force on the pedals was certainly not obvious.” 

 

Joining the squad as a substitute for Martin Elmiger (broken scaphoid), Pineau will undergo a baptism by fire of sorts. 

 

“In the past, I was always on the team sent to the Tour of the Basque Country in order to prepare for the Ardennes Classics.  But it is never too late for a new experience.  I am looking forward to it and am not only motivated to be at the start, but definitely want to make it to the finish too."