Sole leader and still in top form

Sylvain Chavanel has been in the game for years, and he knows all about commitment, expectation, and pressure. With three Tour de France stages under his belt, and numerous other races and stage races on his Palmarès, Chavanel has already achieved more than most cyclists dream of. He is a natural contender in most of the races he enters, and is now poised to make his appearance as sole team leader at IAM Cycling.

“Pressure is something that you put on yourself,” Chavanel told La Côte at IAM Cycling’s presentation on Monday. “In any case, it’s not the same as when I was on Tom Boonen’s team, for example, when we ‘had’ to win the classics.”

Chavanel is thirty-four-years-old, and is thus slowly reaching his natural peak period. Still, he does not think that it is over just yet.

“I’m approaching 2014 in top form, I reached my sporting maturity later than other riders,” he said. “The main thing is that I’m still enjoying it. I have two years with IAM ahead of me, and my priority remains this first part of the year.”

Although quite a few people questioned his move to a team outside the UCI WorldTour, Chavanel still believe that he took the right decision.

“The team is fresh and there’s nobody at the top of the bill – we’re all the same,” he said. “I’m not going into the unknown because this team has benefited from a year of experience, and I’ve seen how it works,” Chavanel added to La Côte.

Chavanel is the undisputed leader of the Swiss team, but he is not the only new star at IAM Cycling. Mathias Frank and Jérôme Pineau will add to the team’s stage race strength, but also give them new opportunities in the stage hunting game.

Team owner Michel Thétaz is satisfied with the team’s process so far, and his philosophy of building gradually and progressively seems to match IAM Cycling well.

“Patience, discipline, judgment and vision have been my watchwords for over twenty years. I vowed to myself that I would take the time to launch this cycling team properly,” Thétaz said to VeloNation. “Today I am very proud to see that my personal values are so well advocated by the riders and all the staff. Twelve victories in our first year provide solid proof.”