Jonathan Fumeaux proved that he has a big future ahead of him when he sprinted to fifth in the uphill sprint on stage 1 of the Vuelta a Burgos. The talented Swiss climber was pleased with his return to racing and hopes to shine again on climbs later in the race.

Having come to the Vuelta a Burgos with big ambitions and a great desire to get results in preparation for the Tour of Spain, IAM Cycling was sure to play a leading role in the first stage.  Jonathan Fumeaux succeeded in getting an excellent 5th place, just three seconds behind Juan-José Lobato (Movistar) who won the stage ahead of Dani Moreno (Katusha) in a sprint that finished at the top of a one kilometer climb. 

The only downside for the Swiss Pro Continental team for the day was that Patrick Schelling was taken to the hospital immediately after crossing the finish line to be examined.  The Swiss climber was caught in a mass crash with about 20 kilometers to go.  Schelling suffered cuts to his arms and face as well as a suspected broken nose.
 
As the best finisher for the IAM Cycling team on this initial stage, Jonathan Fumeaux commented on his race. 

“The stage proved to be very nervous.  There was a lot of wind and many changes in direction.  It was therefore really important to remain well positioned at all times, especially in the finale where we had a little kilometer climb that we had to do twice.  Thanks to the excellent team work, I stayed in a perfect position all the time. 

"I managed to grab a pretty good result.  It’s good for the confidence because I had not raced since the Swiss National Championships.  I took a good break at the beginning of July before resuming training, including altitude training at Bernina for ten days.  So I arrived here fresh mentally and physically.  But I do not want to call this good enough since there will be plenty to accomplish at this event with lots of climbing between now and Sunday.”