The days go by, and so far look it looks very similar. Today, it was John Degenkolb (Giant Alpecin) who took top honors instead of Sam Bennett, though Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) retained his hold on second place in the sprint. 

Similarly for Jonas Van Genechten, the IAM Cycling rider took his second seventh place in a row. But this additional top-10 finish for the Swiss squad turned out not to be the only satisfaction for the stage. On the contrary, Patrick Schelling spent much of the day in the main breakaway, and put in a huge effort in order to try and stay away until the finish.

On this second stage of the Bayern Rundfahrt, IAM Cycling was determined to be a major mover and shaker to spur on the action. Their efforts to play their luck began from the starting gun. 

“At kilometer five, I decided to attack,” Patrick Schelling said. “Three riders came with me and then later we were joined by two more. In the beginning we were not riding very fast since we knew that we could not be faster than the peloton which had several sprinters tucked in. But then we started to ride à bloc in order to stay away until the finish. Unfortunately, we were swept up with some ten kilometers to go. However, being in the break always gives one confidence. I felt good, but I know that I can get even stronger. The least few races I’ve been at have really helped me progress.”

Schelling’s satisfaction was shared by his sports directors. Eddy Seigneur, the team’s directeur sportif at the Bavarian race along with Mario Chiesa, easily found the words to express his contentment. 

“For me, the satisfaction of the day is seeing Patrick working so well in the breakaway. I had already told him before the race and then repeated it again this morning that it would be important to go to the front, since that’s how a rider can really improve. We have to move slowly and follow the proper order of things.  To get into a breakaway is not always easy. At the finish line, Patrick was happy with his day’s work, and happy to see that he could do it. It is also very important to enjoy what you are doing in a race.” 

As for the final sprint where Jonas Van Genechten once again proved his turn of speed, Seigneur was also very pleased. 

“Seventh is a pretty good place. Jonas tackled the sprint again, and within 300 meters from the line, he was in the first three. But then he was blocked by other riders. That’s the name of the game, but it’s too bad for him. There will be other days when we will have the chance to be talking of his top speed.”