CyclingQuotes.com Pelucchi enters the world elite of sprinting in Tirreno

IAM CYCLING

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MATTEO PELUCCHI

TIRRENO - ADRIATICO

13.03.2014 @ 20:45 Posted by Emil Axelgaard

All eyes were on Marcel Kittel, Mark Cavendish, and André Greipel in today's sprint finish in Tirreno-Adriatico but when the peloton powered towards the finish line, it was Matteo Pelucchi (IAM) who shot forward to take a surprise win. The Italian admitted that he would have been happy with a top 5 result and dedicated the win to his teammate Kristof Goddaert who was tragically killed a few weeks ago.

“This victory is for you, Kristof. I gave everything I had to have this chance to dedicate a win to you up there, from where you are looking down and watching us.”

Moved to tears after his victory at the end of the second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico, Matteo Pelucchi did not forget to honor the memory of the teammate with whom he shared his room at the Tour of Qatar early this past February. Kristof Goddaert, who died tragically in an accident while training on February 18th, has remained in the memories of his IAM Cycling teammates.

"This win is dedicated to Kristof, who died a few weeks ago in a crash. It's been hard for all the team because it was so terrible what happened. But it has also united us and helped find something extra. We wanted to win for him and help his family in some way. I think he helped us win today and would have been happy."

After this victory in a World Tour race in front of the best sprinters in the peloton, including Mark Cavendish, Peter Sagan, Marcel Kittel, André Greipel as well as Arnaud Démare, the 25 year old Pelucchi has well and truly demonstrated his strength and potentials.

After stepping down from the podium where he collected the red jersey worn by the leader in the points classification, Matteo Pelucchi took his head in his hands.

“But what am I supposed to do? I don’t think it has sunk in yet. It will take me a little time. Though I was first across the line, it is thanks to the amazing team work from all the guys.

"During the final circuit, all my teammates fulfilled all their tasks, protecting me perfectly at the front of the pack. I simply couldn’t disappoint them. Roger Kluge and Heinrich Haussler were assigned to protect me and slotted me into an ideal position once we passed under the final kilometer marker.

"But the whole sprint set up was total confusion and chaos. There really wasn’t much of a team with a train to take the situation in hand. I initially set myself onto Cavendish’s wheel, but then I gained a few places to grab onto Greipel with 300 meters to go. I came out from behind his draft and in spite of the headwind, I held on for the win.”

"It's even difficult for me to believe that I've won. I didn't think I'd win today. We were riding for the sprint as a team, but I would have considered a top five a good result considering the riders here. There's an incredible high level of riders here. The best sprinters in the world are here, so it's an incredible result.

"This is an important result for me. I don't want to get big headed. I've been getting good results, but have always been missing that big result. I was lucky and strong today and things went my way. Now it’s up to me and my team to keep doing well.

"It was a crazy sprint. I was a bit behind in the final 800 metres but I'd thought that was the best thing to do because I'd noticed there was a headwind. I knew I had to come late. I didn't see Kittel's crash. It was a very confusing sprint. Until the last kilometre we couldn't understand who was going to take control of the sprint; people kept dropping back or moving up.

"I just stayed cool and stayed focused. I didn't panic and the help from Kluge and Haussler was a big factor. Being fresh in a sprint is very important, it's what I was missing last year and until today."

Before heading off to doping control, the Italian who has established himself in Switzerland brought to mind the hard work he had put in all during the off season.

“The training I worked through this whole winter is paying off today. It has not always been easy. But during the race in Mallorca, I could already see the progress I had made. Now to win a World Tour event in my third participation in a race of this level will give me great confidence. And it will also give my teammates a boost and motivation in the training days and races ahead.”

Pelucchi was originally not scheduled to do Milan-Sanremo but may now get his chance.

"It was 90% sure that I would not ride it, but now and with change of the route, things could change. However it'll be difficult for me: it's a long race, with a hard finale. But I can't deny I'd love to try to be there and try something. We've also got Haussler and Chavanel but we could play off other teams."

You can read our preview of stage 3 here.

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