The fourth stage of Paris-Nice, which was won by Tom Slagter (Garmin Sharp), did not turn out the way IAM Cycling had hoped it would. 

 

Having come to the “Race to the Sun” with big ambitions, the Swiss Pro Continental team has experienced all possible emotions thus far.  Now sitting in 59th place overall, team leader Sylvain Chavanel suffered a mechanical issue with his bike less than 30 kilometers from the finish.  Efforts to bring him back to the front of the peloton in time for the brutal Mont-Brouilly sapped his strengths, limiting his abilities on the brisk climb. 

 

Sports director Eddy Seigneur explained how the unfortunate scenario played out. 

 

“We are naturally disappointed because the team worked well together.  The mechanical incident happened at the worst possible time.  And even if we could have replaced Sylvain in a good position in time for the climb, he couldn’t have followed the wheels of the favorites after that sort of effort.  Since he conceded 57 seconds at the line, it will be difficult for him to play for the overall after this, but a stage win is always a possibility.  And we have not lost everything at this Paris- Nice since both Stefan Denifl and Sébastien Reichenbach were able to climb with the best.  And that is the good news of this very mixed day.”

 

Stefan Denifl proved the quality of his form for the stage by finishing in the main group, in 28th place, just five seconds behind the stage winner. 

 

“I also tried my luck on the climb, but I was not able to make the difference.  I did manage to stay with the best.  I am satisfied with that since the legs are good.” 

 

Sébastien Reichenbach, 23rd on the day, confirmed the difficulty of the task.  

 

“We had to fight hard to bring Sylvain Chavanel back to the bunch.  So I was in the wrong position at the start of the last climb.  I just had to tear myself inside out in order to reach the top of Mont-Brouilly with the best.  I made it, and then worked with the first group of pursuers.  In the sprint, I had a minor fender bender, but hey, I’m still well ranked in the classification.  And I am still feeling good on the bike.”

 

You can read a preview of stage 5 here and follow our live coverage at 14.25 CET on CyclingQuotes.com/live.