A Final Firework

The Grand Tour Triple

A stage win at the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France or the Vuelta a Espana has been a main objective of Team IAM Cycling since its foundation. This year everything seems to fall into place for the Team: Roger Kluge won stage 17 of the Giro d'Italia after a smart move in the final. Jarlinson Pantano was one of the most active riders in the Tour de France and was rewarded with a victory on stage 15. Jonas van Genechten completed the Grand Tour Triple for Team IAM Cycling with his win on stage 7 of the Vuelta a Espana. Thanks to Mathias Frank's victory on stage 17, has now won 4 Grand Tour stages in the ongoing race season. 

Van Genechten's Coup on Stage 7

After hiding in the peleton all day, the IAM rider was in the lead group that caught the last two riders Samuel Sanchez and Simon Clarke just before the line. Jonas Van Genechten timed it right and hit the front to take the biggest win of his career. He came around the final bend at the front and there was no chance of anyone coming around him after that. "At the Vuelta the chances of a victory are really small. You have to fight every stage and I tried on stage 1 and 2. This was one of my goals and tried to just stay with the bunch today. This is the biggest win, for sure," van Genechten said after the race. 

Frank's Dream Come True

Frank, who had been part of a 28-man break that went up the road after more than 40 kilometres, jumped clear with Dario Caltaldo of Team Astana around 30 kilometers from the finishline on an unclassified climb as the breakaway began to fall apart. "When I attacked from the break along with Dario, quite honestly, I did not believe we’d make it." Frank said after the race. The gap bounced up and down and was only 20 seconds when they headed into the final climb of the day. With just over two kilometres to go, Frank pushed on again and dropped a flagging Cataldo. He grinded up the steep gradient that hit slopes of over 20 per cent that had many riders almost at a standstill. Frank's margin was slim on the line but it was enough to seal him his first win in two years and his first at a Grand Tour. “When I crossed the line, I said to myself that this is a dream come true,” Mathias Frank explained with a voice full of emotion. “I have not had an amazing season. I missed out completely on my two main objectives when I had to abandon both the Tour de Suisse and the Tour de France. My ambition coming into the Vuelta was to win a stage. Now I have accomplished this mission. I feel at peace and it’s an incredible feeling.”