One day after news broke that IAM have signed Jarlinson Pantano to support Mathias Frank in the stage races, French climber Clement Chevrier reveals that he will join the Swiss team too. The Frenchman is looking forward to continue his development after a good season with the Bissell team.

Clement Chevrier will ride for IAM in the next two years, the French climber has confirmed in an interview with Directvelo. His remarkable season in the United States where he has been riding for Axel Marckx’s Bissell Development Team, has not gone unnoticed and he will now compete for the Swiss elite team. Earlier he rode for Chambery CF which is a feeder team for Ag2r La Mondiale and he has been a regular on the French U23 national team.

This year Chevrier won the San Dimas Stage Race, was 12th in the Tour of Gila, 24th in the Tour of California, 19th in the Tour of Utah and second best young rider behind Dylan Teuns (BMC) and 12th in the USA Pro Challenge where he was also the best young rider. As stagiare forTrek Factory Racing, he has done five classic since mid-September.

Last year he won a stage and finished second in the Tour des Pays de Savoie, finished third in the Giro Valle d'Aosta, behind Formolo and Villella who both have been riding for Cannondale this year, 16th in the Tour l'Ain and 11th in U23 Worlds road race.

Chevrier is a climber but has shown good skills in other terrains too. Last winter Ag2r decided not to sign him. While they added Alexis Gougeard to their roster, they preferred not to offer Chevrier a contract. Having been in contact with the continental Roubaix team, he contacted Axel Merckx who gave him the nod.

"I am committed IAM Cycling for a period of two years,” he told Directvelo. “More than a year ago, I informed the management that I was interested in their project. Last year it yielded nothing but they contacted me this summer, during the Vuelta and just after my Tour of Colorado. I am very pleased to have signed with this great team. I know I will have the opportunity to speak with them. I am confident that I can bring something to the team and add value. I also know that the team will bring me a lot.

“I'll rub elbows with riders that make me dream. It’s always fun to be able to ride with a guy like Sylvain Chavanel. When I was a junior, Heinrich Haussler was my idol. I will also be surrounded by Eddy Seigneur who coached me at the time when I raced in Picardie. These are small things that I'm really happy about. IAM Cycling and Trek were really the two teams which I hoped to join. These were my top choices so to be able to commit myself for two years with the Swiss team couldn’t have been any better. I dreamed about it, but I thought it would be complicated.

“I can say that I handled my gamble by going to the USA last winter pretty well. If I hadn’t made that choice, I would not have had the opportunity with Trek and then I wouldn’t have been spotted by IAM Cycling. I also think it worked in my favour. Beyond my results, the IAM Cycling leaders saw that I was able to adapt to another culture, another country. This has probably tipped the balance in my favour. I learned a lot this year. I discovered different cultures, different visions of cycling, with Americans, Australians, New Zealanders. Now, with this contract, I take another big step. It's a job well done. But for me, it is above all a new start. I keep telling that to myself.

“Next year, I know I'll have a much more extensive schedule than I have had this season. I trust my team managers and coaches, who have a lot of experience. I really want to have a long-term vision. The goal will be to perform well over time. The first year, I will first and foremost try to find my place in the team. I would like to do WorldTour stage races and why not do the Ardennes Classics too. I think I can do well there in the future, much like my friend Romain Bardet. I think we have the same profile. What is certain is that I set no limits and no specific target for 2015 because I do not know my schedule. We also need to see how I will recover from the many races. This will a new thing for me. Most importantly, I hope I will thrive in this team. There are not many climbers in the IAM Cycling team. I hope to bring something extra with my qualities.”
 

Chevrier joins other new signings Jarlinson Pantano (Team Colombia), Stef Clement (Belkin), Jerome Coppel (Cofidis), Thomas Degand (Wanty-Gobert), Dries Devenyns (Giant-Shimano), Simon Pellaud (stagiare) and Maxime Vantomme (Roubaix) on the Swiss team.