Classics specialist will find an Easter menu to their liking on Sunday, April 5th.  As the second monument of the season on the WorldTour schedule following Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders offers a completely different set of difficulties to overcome.  The repeated climbing of various legendary bergs like the Kwaremont, the Koppenberg, the Paterberg, the Molenberg as well as the Taaienberg, and the Kruisberg, combined with demanding cobbled sections will replace the capiand Poggio found on the way to San Remo.  And if it turns into a day of rain, cold, and wind on the level of Gent-Wevelgem, victory will only be possible for the strongest and the luckiest.
 
Having received little help from the elements and circumstances in the last week of racing in Belgium, IAM Cycling still has everything on its side in an attempt to beat the odds between Bruges and Oudenarde.  Sylvain Chavanel and Heinrich Haussler will have the full support of six teammates ready to do everything possible to help them towards having a successful race. 

Second in the 2009 Tour of Flanders, the Australian champion approaches the race now with more maturity.  And the 31 year old, who is set to become a father soon, knows what is required to be able to take a victory such as this after 260 kilometers of racing. 

“It’s super important always to be well placed, never leave the top positions in the pack, and have a little bit of luck not to crash or puncture.  Of course I know that sometimes you make your own luck.”
 
Though Haussler was not at the start of last year’s race due to an untimely bout with gastroenteritis, the 2015 Australian road race champion is ready to take his revenge with the help of his team, which has been built around him and Sylvain Chavanel. 

“I had a good start to the season with no particular problems.  The sensations are good, but it will be important that we race without a hitch, in order to hope that we get a chance to play our cards.  The fact that both Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara won’t be there due to injuries really doesn’t change what we have to do.  There are still many contenders capable of vying for the coveted victory in Le Ronde.”