Having shown good form in the Arctic Race of Norway, Martin Elmiger is one of the outsiders for Sunday's GP Plouay. This week the Swiss champion is using the Tour du Poitou-Charentes to prepare for the WorldTour race.

Mark Cavendish is insatiable. The Omega Pharma-Quickstep wearer of the leader's jersey for the Tour du Poitou-Charentes after having won the first stage of the race, added to his tally by taking the second stage into Niort. IAM Cycling did not sit on it's hands all day, but rather attempted to implement a strategy that would perhaps surprise the rider from the Isle of Man. 

Their efforts did not net any results, as Kevyn Ista, Martin Elmiger, Sylvain Chavanel and Jérôme Pineau were not in a position to play for the win. After a good 7th place at the Arctic Race of Norway, Martin Elmiger chose to this French eace as a way to continue to build his form. The Swiss champion is happy to be present to work out the bugs with a view to the rest of the season.

"I did not really have super legs today but we were determined to have a go with Brandle and Chavanel. It did not work out, but that does not matter. I have my eye on doing well in the time trial and then we'll see. In fact, I will know where I stand for Sunday. The GP Plouay is my real goal for this week because it is a race that suits me well."

Eddy Seigneur, sports director of the Swiss professional team, praised the group's work in the final and talked about how decisive the race against the clock will be.

"We picked out a small climb coming in to the finish and we were trying to catch everyone off guard. Nothing came of our efforts, but it is easier to ride in front to avoid crashing and not be trapped. The situation is percolating; tomorrow afternoon at the time trial we will try again. With riders like Matthias Brändle, Martin Elmiger and of course Sylvain Chavanel we have some good cards to play."