In the Vendée heat, there was no mirage, but rather a beautiful reality.  At the time trial championships of France, the IAM Cycling team again performed very well.  Though Sylvain Chavanel did not manage to win a seventh title, Jérôme Coppel, who already proved he was in great shape by producing a fantastic result in the final time trial of the Tour of Switzerland last week, improved upon his efforts there by climbing up to the top step of the podium on Thursday.  Coppel won by three seconds ahead of Stéphane Rossetto (Cofidis) and Sylvain Chavanel by seven seconds.

The French national anthem resonated in Chantonnay. Jérome Coppel, with his newly acquired medal, was able to talk about his ride, though with a voice charged with emotion. 

“As far as I’m concerned, Sylvain Chavanel is the best in France against the clock.  When I crossed the line, I knew I had a good time, but I honestly could not believe it.  I thought I was second behind Chava.  And then there was suddenly a rush of emotions.  During the national anthem, I thought of my friend, Arnaud Coyot because he believed in me.  I was even thinking of him during the time trial.  He was able to help me, and it’s also thanks to him that I’m here.  This is my first title as a pro, so I am super happy. 

"I did not believe that I would take the title, I was aiming for the podium. I was never in contention at the French Championships even if I have always been up there so naturally I'm happy. The jersey is the icing on the cake. It is never trivial to have it on the shoulders.

"I'm had two months without competition after my crash in the Tour of the Basque Country (he broke his left wrist, ed). I did a lot of riding on the home trainer after I had surgery. I first trained with my cast and then with a splint. Ultimately it allowed me to prepare myself specifically. 

"So far, I have not thought about the Tour de France. I mostly tried to find a good feeling at the Tour de Suisse. 

"Since joining IAM Cycling, I have changed my mindset.  Now I definitely want to try to win stages and to work for my leader, Mathias Frank.  Going for the general classification is over for me.  At IAM Cycling, I can work with great racers who have tons of experience like Chava, and who give good advice.  The directeur sportifs are all great also and experienced, which is very important.

I leave two difficult years behind me. There were not many people who believed in me. Today I prove to the people who supported me that they were right in trusting me. It's always easier when you are on top of the rankings. Now I'm still here and I have not forgotten who was there for me when it was harder and who was not.

"There was no problem at the Cofidis team. It was rider who was wrong. I have long been bothered by illness and I also experienced a lot of crashes. Since I arrived at IAM I learnt fromt the experience of Sylvain and my director. I changed my mindset: I prefer to aim for stages and be in support of a GC leader. I'll have this role in the upcoming Tour de France where I will help Mathias Frank. I like to go on the attack in select stages.

Now, the new time trial champion of France is looking toward new goals, most immediately the road race title. 

“Sunday, we have a chance and a card to play,” Coppel explained.  “Four from the team will participate; we’ll be missing some numbers, but we’ll ride as a team and don't have to bear the weight of the race.  The last time that Sylvain was not the time trial champion of France, he made up for it by being the road champion.”

Sylvain Chavanel, who was third by the finish line at Chantonnay, was sincere when explaining his result, which in the end was still a very good performance. 

“I felt from the beginning that I was not on an exceptional day,” the six time champion of France said.  “I started well, but by the finish, I was seven seconds behind.  And that was good enough for third.  I’m very happy for Jérome after all the problems he had.  But I am disappointed because I did want a seventh title.  My strength is in moving forward; tomorrow I will have turned the page.”