Heinrich Haussler had to forfeit his participation in the Tour de l'Eurometropole at the last moment. Without its captain, IAM supported stagiaire Sondre Holst Enger who took a fine top 10 result.

Arnaud Démare (FDJ.fr) left no room for his opponents to out-sprint him in the final dash to the line for the first stage of the Eurométropole, formerly known as the Circuit Franco-Belge.  Even if Démare, the champion of France, look unopposed, IAM Cycling celebrated a top-10 place with its new Norwegian hope, Sondre Holst Enger.  Despite the last minute withdrawal by Heinrich Haussler, the Swiss Pro Continental team was still able to mingle in the melee of the final sprint finish, and were duly rewarded with the 10th place of their Norwegian neo-pro.
 
Just recovered from his efforts, Sondre Holst Enger (20 years old) was pleased to be able to rub elbows on the finishing straight with the top sprinters in the peloton. 

“During the World Championships last week, I managed to finish fifth.  And today I found myself in a good position thanks very much to the efforts of Vicente Reynes and Sébastien Hinault.  I felt good and I didn’t ask any questions.  I even had to slow down in the sprint, but I managed to maintain a good position.  I hope that tomorrow I can confirm this good result because there is at least one more chance for the sprinters.”
 
Evaluating his riders, Eddy Seigneur, one of the directeurs sportifs for IAM Cycling along with Mario Chiesa, was satisfied with their work. 

“It’s unfortunate that we had to suffer the forfeit of Heinrich Haussler.  On such a course, a handicap is not insurmountable.  Today Vicente Reynes and Sébastien Hinault were protected riders and Sondre Holst Enger was given a free hand.  Despite crashing along with Reto Hollenstein after racing 100 kilometers, Sondre managed to hold his own in the final sprint.  This bodes well for the upcoming stages, as well as for his chances in the 2015 season.”