After Mathias Frank's withdrawal, IAM have not had much luck in their first Tour de France but today the team came agonizinglu close to its first stage victory. Martin Elmiger was caught less than 200m from the line and Heinrich Haussler sprinted to second in Nimes.

IAM Cycling regained its mojo during the 15th stage of the Tour de France.  Handicapped by the abandonment of Mathias Frank and hobbled by the injuries all IAM Cycling riders have suffered in crashes, the Swiss Pro Continental team was nonetheless just meters away from the desired victory in the Tour. 

While Alexander Kristof (Katusha) won his second stage in the sprint finish in Nimes, Heinrich Haussler took a painfully narrow but fantastic second place on the line.  Adding to the near misses for the team, Martin Elmiger, who had been designated to get into the day’s break and succeeded with a remarkable 222 kilometers off the front, came up just 200 meters short of the line when he and his brave companion Jack Bauer (Garmin-Sharp) were caught by the hard-charging peloton.
 
After banging his bars in frustration at the line, Heinrich Haussler re-evaluated his near-miss. 

“Not much more was needed.  To win a sprint at this level requires a little boost of luck too.  Today, everything went perfectly in preparing the sprint, especially in the final with Reto Hollenstein and Roger Kluge.  I felt good and found myself in an ideal position.  I have not lost 1st, but rather won 2nd place, and we still have some time before Paris.”
 
Proving again that he is a great rider in the professional peloton, Martin Elmiger also succeeded in showing the IAM Cycling colors and values well. 

“It was a great stage for all of IAM Cycling.  Heino finished a magnificent 2nd place.  As for my day, I had hoped that we would have a few more riders to help power this escape.  That didn’t happen, but I am not disappointed because I actually did not have the best legs today. 

"In the finale, my opponent and I were playing a little poker.  Being caught by the pack is not so bad when you are convinced you have given everything.  As I have already said three times this Tour after breaks have failed, one of these days the wheels will turn in my favor.

“This is the Tour de France, the biggest race in the world, that's where we have to give everything we have. But none of the two of us really wanted to ride flat out. I didn't have very good legs. It's probably normal. At the end of the second week, everyone is getting tired. But I can be happy with myself because I fought all day long.

"I didn't think we'd make it to the finish because of the wind that made it difficult. The roundabouts made it technical at the end too. However, Heinrich Haussler's second place is a super result for the team as we haven't been very lucky at the Tour de France so far.”