IAM have announced their line-up for the Tour de Picardie.

“This 70th edition of the race is dedicated to the sprinters,” Clément Chevrier explained.  “The climbs that do appear on the route will not be decisive enough, in my opinion, to make a real difference.  On the other hand, the wind will likely be the most important factor that we will have to take into account.  And then when you do reach the top of a climb, you often end up on a plateau that can be very exposed to any storms.  So we will definitely have to be vigilant and watch out of echelons.  The experience that guys like Oliver Naesen and Aleksejs Saramotins have regarding how to deal with these situations, will prove invaluable to the squad. At the Tour of Picardy, we will get the results on the basis of our close teamwork.”

“We will have two sprinters on the team for IAM Cycling at the Tour of Picardy,” directeur sportif Eddy Seigneur said.  “Consequently, either Sondre Holst Enger or Jonas Van Genechten could take a stage victory.  But primarily, our philosophy will be to work to thwart the plans of the big sprinters’ teams.  In terms of pure speed, we must be realistic and admit that our riders are slower than Nacer Bouhanni, for example.  It will be necessary to anticipate the moves if we don’t want the race to weigh on us.  That will mean that we must get into the breakaways, and create a volatile race.”

Both natives of Picardy, the directeur sportif and the young professional will be tracing over home roads in the three days of racing. 

“On the second stage, the route passes two kilometers from my home in Saint-Vaast-en-Chaussée,” Chevrier admitted.  “Although I have no real personal ambitions to get a result, I would like to show that I can definitely be a player, especially in my home region.”

Eddy Seigneur knows how important a role the weather conditions can play in Picardy. Seigneur particularly believes it is essential not to underestimate the wind.

“It will come from the north.  And with a winding course, that means there will be a lot of directional changes.  Every stage will be subjected to echelons.  But we must see the wind as our ally.  We must make use of it and put it on our side.”

Line-up:

Marcel Aregger (S)

Clément Chevrier (F)

Sondre Holst Enger (Nor)

Pirmin Lang (S)

Oliver Naesen (Bel)

Simon Pellaud (S)

Aleksejs Saramotins (Let)

Jonas Van Genechten (Bel)