IAM Cycling could not find the reserves to ward off the bad luck that stalked the team all along the roads of the Tour of Flanders.  Behind Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing), who won this race for the third time, Sylvain Chavanel notched up an honest 19thplace. 

 

The French rider on the Swiss Pro Continental team finished in the chase group which included Peter Sagan. 

 

“Throughout the race, I was having trouble breathing. I tried hard to hang onto the lead group.  But if you are not 100% at le Ronde, you have no chance to fight for the victory. 

 

"I was classed among the dark horses for a possible win, but I was never really able to confirm my status.  I just managed to keep with the main bunch to save the honor of the team, which had more than its share of bad luck today.” 

 

Already deprived of Heinrich Haussler’s invaluable services due to a nasty case of stomach flu, the team, which was led by Marcello Albasini and Eddy Seigneur in the directeur sportif roles, suffered the loss of Martin Elmiger early on in the race when he crashed hard before the first section of pavé had been covered.  Elmiger suffered a sprained left wrist. 

 

In addition to that, Sébastien Hinault, Aleksejs Saramotins and Roger Kluge all complained of having stomach troubles during the race.  This has led team doctor Jacques Ménétrey to conclude that a stomach virus has succeeded in decimating the team. 

 

When reviewing the day, Marcello Albasini stressed the collateral effects of these incidents. 

 

“When fate and luck are involved, we are powerless.  We have no way to reverse the trend.  Martin Elmiger’s crash and the intestinal problems suffered by our other riders proves how tied a team is to luck.  We still have to keep our heads up and focus now on the cobbles to come for Roubaix; we will have the determination to aim for the top again.”