Martin Elmiger celebrated Easter in his own way in front of tens of thousands of spectators sharing communion on the cobbles and over the bergs of the 99th edition of the Tour of Flanders.  The IAM Cycling road captain returned home Monday morning to enjoy his fantastic 10th place from Flanders and share a well-earned celebratory meal with his family. 

This Easter repast will prove to be short and sweet since the 36 year old from Zug, in central Switzerland, already has his plane ticket in his pocket to rejoin his teammates and managers today in order to work out the tactical details for Paris-Roubaix, another monument of cycling.  It is a race where the Swiss professional team will want to confirm its collective strength, which has already been glimpsed throughout last Sunday’s “Ronde”.
 
Elmiger speaks respectfully of the “Hell of the North” that awaits him, but he also has ambitions to do well. 

“Today my legs feel a little heavy and hard after the efforts on Sunday.  But I’m not afraid because I’m sure tomorrow everything will fall into place automatically in time for this big appointment.  Friday, we will recon some of the pavé sections and test out some equipment. 

"Whether we’re racing in the dust or rain, Paris-Roubaix is never an easy race.  Of course, it is flatter than the Tour of Flanders course, and so does allow heavier riders to be among the favorites. 

"Personally, I feel good and I’m confident.  Yet, I have never managed better than 14th place in this race.  I have often been left with good feelings, but was never able to translate that into a better result, despite having good legs.  In this race, you really have to be permanently well placed, and have a little boost of good luck, too.  Just a simple puncture or a crash is enough to lose all hope of doing well upon arrival at the velodrome.  And Sunday, which looks to be sunny, dry and dusty, the cobbles will be very dangerous.”
 
Riders:
Matthias Brändle (Aut)
Sylvain Chavanel (F)
Martin Elmiger (S)
Heinrich Haussler (Aus)
Roger Kluge (Ger)
Jérôme Pineau (F)
Aleksejs Saramotins (Let)
Jonas Van Genechten (Bel)