Heinrich Haussler ( IAM Cycling)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mathias Frank (IAM Cycling), Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) and Bauke Mollema (Belkin) on the final podium(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mathias Frank (IAM Cycling) collects another best Swiss rider jersey(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
IAM Cycling have announced the squad that they will take to their debut Tour de France. The Swiss Pro Continental team named the riders one-by-one on their official twitter account on Tuesday morning.
The team's general classification challenge will be led by Matthias Frank, fresh from a second place finish at the Tour de Suisse, his home tour. The 27-year-old has enjoyed a solid first season with IAM Cycling after signing from BMC. He was second overall at Criterium International and Bayern-Rundfahrt, although this will be his first ever appearance in the Tour de France and his first outing in any grand tour since the 2012 Giro d'Italia.
Frank's fellow new arrival Sylvain Chavanel will lead the hunt for stage victories. The Frenchman left Omega Pharma-QuickStep during the off-season to join the Swiss outfit. His cobbled classics campaign was hampered by illness but he returned to win a stage at the Four Days of Dunkirk in May.
Chavanel has won three stages of the Tour de France and wore the yellow jersey for two days in 2010.
Joining Chavanel will be Jérôme Pineau, who moved with him to the team over the winter. Heinrich Haussler will lead team's sprinting ambitions. Haussler hasn’t ridden a Grand Tour since the 2011 Vuelta a España and his last appearance at LaGrand Boucle was in 2009, when he won a rain-soaked stage in Colmar.
IAM Cycling team for the Tour de France: Sylvain Chavanel, Martin Elmiger, Mathias Frank, Heinrich Haussler, Reto Hollenstein, Roger Kluge, Jérôme Pineau, Sébastien Reichenbach and Marcel Wyss.
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