Sylvain Chavanel proved that he is up for the challenge of winning the Tour du Poitou-Charentes when he picked up three important bonus seconds in the final intermediate sprint on stage 1. His IAM team is glad to have an advantage in a race that is usually determined by seconds.

The first stage of the Tour du Poitou-Charentes helped Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) sign his name to another sprint victory.  Cavendish took the day unopposed and grabbed the leader’s jersey in the process. 

For its part, IAM Cycling had a basically quiet day in spite of the crash that Simon Pellaud suffered and the bonification seconds that Sylvain Chavanel, one of the favorites for the overall victory, succeeded in grabbing.  

All in all, Eddy Seigneur, the directeur sportif for the Swiss Pro Continental team, was satisfied. 

“There was the sun and wind and we had to stay vigilant because echelons could always form and cause gaps.  The nervousness of the other teams was palpable and we ourselves felt it throughout the stage. 

The mass crash that happed with about 10 kilometers to go and took down our own Simon Pellaud proves it was a pretty nervous day.  Luckily, our stagiaire Pellaud was able to come away unscathed. 

"And happily, Sylvain Chavanel scrounged three precious bonus seconds in a sprint that will be applied to his final rankings.  It’s always good to grab whatever you can because the Tour du Poitou-Charentes often comes down to seconds.  Tomorrow, we will continue to remain vigilant so that we can come away without having any regrets.”