Classics king’s exit would have opened the door for Breschel, but the deal with Rabobank had already been made
Matti Breschel’s much anticipated Spring 2011 campaign is on the verge of being derailed before it even gets the chance to get going. His looming knee surgery and the resulting 6-12 weeks off the bike will certainly leave him far behind his rivals if he is in fact able to even start the crucial appointments in April with his new Rabobank team.
In this climate of uncertainty, the World Championships runner up in Geelong spoke to sporten.tv2.dk about his new team, but also how a change in the announcements within his old Saxo Bank team would likely have kept him at home in Denmark with Bjarne Riis’s squad.
Matti Breschel’s departure from Saxo Bank has always seemed a bit odd considering Fabian Cancellara’s exit stage left a year ahead of schedule. It would seem to have been a perfect situation for Breschel. Of course, the announcement of Cancellara leaving for a new team came late in the transfer season, likely a fair bit of time following Breschel’s talks and signing with Rabobank.
The 25 year old Dane admits that had that news come sooner, he would have stayed with Riis.
“When Cancellara left the team, Saxo Bank would have been the perfect squad, but I believe my decision was right, and I’m looking ahead now,” said this year’s Dwars door Vlaanderen winner to sporten.tv2.dk.
“It would have been difficult with the world’s best one day rider on the team, so that was why I switched.”
VeloNation asked Breschel about that very same topic back in May, but, unsurprisingly, the Dane was reticent to voice any discontent about his current situation and even more so about the topic of him leaving Saxo Bank at the end of the 2010 season.
“There have been a lot of rumors, and they are only rumors. When you get some good results, and you care consistent the whole season and win some races – it’s normal that you get other teams interested. I definitely feel I can still progress within the Saxo Bank team and with Fabian around. Having Fabian in the team also helps me, because no matter where I go, there will always be a Fabian. I figure it’s better to have Fabian in my team rather than racing against him.”
Breschel can hardly be faulted for taking the line of contented teammate in response to a question of that sort, but it’s still interesting to compare tales six months apart.
Even more interesting though, is the difference in how riders part ways with a team they’ve spent a great amount of time with. This transfer season has seen exits from teams of every sort – terrible, horrendous, neutral, but in the case of Matti Breschel – it seems to have been done in just the right fashion.
Breschel continues to be in contact with Bjarne Riis and even showed up for the release of Riis’s new book a couple of weeks ago. The door is definitely open for a return for the Danish super talent, and it’s a door that looks likely that Breschel will step through again at some point in the future.
“I would certainly return if they wanted me. I would like that.”
First, Breschel has to do battle with a defiant right knee, then there are the two years on his contract with Rabobank, and what will probably be a very fruitful collaboration over the next couple of seasons.