IAM used the Tirreno-Adriatico team time trial to test themselves for the upcoming world championships. WIthout their main powerhouses, they finished 12th and this made them satisfied with the outcome of the day.

IAM Cycling finished off their team time trial at the Tirreno-Adriatico in 12th place, holding an average speed of 54.9 km/h over 18.5 kilometers; Omega Pharma-Quickstep won the stage.  The fifty seconds that the Swiss Pro Continental team lost can be considered a good result according to the sports directors. 

Marcello Albasini, who along with Kjell Carlström is acting as directeur sportif for the team this week, noted that the numbers for IAM Cycling are promising. 

“The team time trial gives a good starting point from which to work.  Comparing our time with Orica’s, when they pretty much fielded the team they will take to the Worlds in September, we come up barely 40 seconds short.  And we didn’t even have mainstays like Sylvain Chavanel, Gustav Larsson and Reto Hollenstein there today.  I think we can improve significantly with training. 

"A couple of the riders were not going at their best today.  We will analyze all the data and will refer back to these numbers when we continue our training with the world championships in Ponferrada in mind.  But I’m not worried.  Today, I am happy with our team and Tirreno is just beginning.  We will have more opportunities to show ourselves well before the race ends next Tuesday.”

You can read our preview of stage 2 here.