The second race of the Italian triptych (Milan-Turin, GranPiemonte, Tour of Lombardy) proved to be anything but a cakewalk for the participating riders.  In the wake of having had to make the effort to climb the Superga twice, the pros who then participated in the GranPiemonte were forced to deal with some pretty difficult weather conditions.  The rain and cold came to complicate the already difficult race, though it was always expected to end in a mass sprint. Nevertheless, Jan Bakelants (AG2R-La Mondiale), a rider accustomed to facing cold conditions, found a way to surprise the sprinters by attacking in the final. 

Encouraged “to exercise fantasies in the final” by their own directeur sportif, Rubens Bertogliati, the IAM Cycling riders were not able to turn the tide of blank results from the previous day despite the welcomed efforts to pull off something special.  Best of the Swiss team’s riders turned out to be Marcel Aregger, who finished in 17th place.

Warmed up and ready to return to his home in Zug in order to recover before the last race of the season on his schedule in Binche, Marcel Aregger was happy with his performance in view of the fact that he was pretty poorly positioned going into the final sprint. 

“A rider got in my way on the finishing straight.  I’m disappointed because I had the legs to grab a place in the top-10.  Unfortunately, it is not possible to run the race over again.  And I do not really want to since we were racing in the conditions more typical in the spring classics. We had tons of rain and cold and then were racing over little roads with all sorts of turns, left here and right there. 

"Personally I am still motivated.  Racing my second Vuelta has given me another gear.  I hope to prove that next Tuesday at Binche-Chimay-Binche.”

At the time of analysis, Rubens Bertogliati was quick to point out the good spirit the team showed, especially since they were able to bounce back from the poor showing at Milan-Turin. 

“Cycling is difficult enough in normal conditions, but today was really terrible on account of the rain and cold the riders faced all day.  For our part, the guys did their jobs well. Larry Warbasse found the right break and ended up in a group of 13 riders that was pulled back only with less than 20 kilometers to go.  He missed this chance, but mostly because Movistar and Lampre agreed to work together to bring the break back. 

"In the end, Marcel Aregger, our protected rider, found a way to be in the small group of riders sprinting for the victory, but this time the bar was set just a little too high.”