Alès, France

The quote: I wanted to win the stage; but to get the overall as well is even better," Jérôme Coppel said just before collecting his two trophies at the finish of the 46th Etoile de Bessèges.  "I knew I had to make the difference in the last two kilometers of the rollers.  So I left some extra reserves to be able to call on them near the end. On the last  steep climb I gave everything that I had; but I didn't thinkI had created such a gap.  With this double win, I have been able to reward all the hard work that all the guys, and the staff, have done throughout the week. This success is not only good for me but the entire team as well."

The explanation: Lionel Marie, directeur sportif for IAM Cycling along with Thierry Marichal at the Etoile de Bessèges, enjoyed the success of the team, which was his second in the past eight days counting also the victory of Dries Devenyns at the GP La Marseillaise.  "We were victorious in the sprint last week, and this week we have changed things up to win the general classification as well.  We managed to do this thanks to the hard work that the whole team did every moment of the day. Jérôme Coppel put a nice cherry on the top of this week as the winner in Ales.  This bodes well for the rest of the season at races where riders like Dries Devenyns and Oliver Naesen will shine."

The fact of the day: Already winner of the Etoile de Bessèges in 2012 thanks to his success in the time trial again, Jérôme Coppel (29), current time Trial Champion of France, has not won a continental race since Tour du Doubs 2012.

The number: 4. ´The number of IAM Cycling riders who placed in the top-20 at this 11.6 Kilometer time Trial behind Jérôme Coppel, with Dries Devenyns finishing 6th, Oliver Naesen in 12th and Jonathan Fumeaux 16th.

  The info: After a week of recovery, Jérôme Coppel will resume racing at the Ruta del Sol and then continue with the classics South Ardeche and Drome and then onto Paris-Nice.

Text courtesy of IAM Cycling.

SwissStop is a proud sponsor of IAM Cycling. The team rides SwissStop Black Prince compound pads and DT Swiss carbon fibre wheels.