The first stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico ended as expected with a bunch sprint, which was won by Belgian champion Jens Debusschere (Lotto-Soudal). Adriano Malori (Movistar) managed to retain his overall lead. However, IAM Cycling suffered through all possible moods on this pleasantly sunny and spring-like day in Liguria. 

Though Roger Kluge came away with an excellent 7th place in the final electric sprint, Stef Clement was at the other end of the spectrum, having found himself on the ground in the good company of Fabian Cancellara, and happily without any serious injury. 

Unfortunately, Matteo Pelucchi was not so lucky after he was involved with a mass crash twelve kilometers from the finish line. The winner of this stage last year, making it IAM Cycling’s first WorldTour victory, Pelucchi still managed to reach the finish line in spite of having severe pain in his hand, right shoulder as well as his left leg, in addition to the inevitable and extensive road rash that he suffered all over his left side. 

A first inspection has revealed no fractures, which will allow the rider and the team to believe in his chances to take the start of the second stage on Friday.

Even in such an uncontrolled race, Roger Kluge still managed to pull out an impressive sprint following the team’s decision to change the morning’s strategy in light of the loss of Matteo Pelucchi for the finale. The impressively tall German track rider commented that this was a finish practically like no other.

“I’ve never been in such a nervous and chaotic sprint. We managed to reorganize ourselves at the last minute after Matteo crashed. Again, we all worked really hard, and I finally found myself in an ideal position with the help of Aleksejs Saramotins and Matthias Brändle. It was a real team effort, and I slipped between the cracks when the major crash 200 meters from the line happened. My sensations were good yesterday after the prologue. That did not change today, and I am pretty sure I will still be feeling good tomorrow.”

Asked to analyze the stage, Kjell Carlström, who is one of the directeurs sportifs for IAM Cycling along with Rubens Bertogliati, praised his riders’ team spirit. 

“I am really proud of what I saw from our team during this stage, which was super nervous from the start. The guys are very helpful and everyone is pulling in the same direction. From the moment that Matteo crashed, which was a big blow to our plans, we were able to change strategy and all the guys were prepared and able to take their share of the work to put Roger in a position to do well. Therefore, his 7th place is a great reward and confirms the potential of the entire team.”