Rabobank’s new rider to face off with former Saxo Bank leader

Dane Matti Breschel looks forward to the rough roads of Belgium, where in April he will have a chance to lead team Rabobank at the Tour of Flanders. His dream is to win and leave former leader Fabian Cancellara behind in the process.

“The Ronde van Vlaanderen is tailor-made for me. The combination of cobblestones and hills in conjunction with the many kilometres naturally splits off the weak riders,” Breschel told Dutch Wieler Magazine.

“I hope that Rabobank will be at the front for the final, where this year I had an accident. It will definitely make a difference that this time I am racing against, not with, Fabian Cancellara.”

This year, Breschel won Dwars door Vlaanderen, finished eighth in Gent-Wevelgem and helped Saxo Bank team-mate Cancellara win the E3 Prijs and Tour of Flanders. Flanders was a disaster, though, for him. He trailed behind the leaders due to a poorly executed bike change in the final.

Breschel beat Cancellara this summer, however. He announced after the Tour de France in August that he will join Dutch team, Rabobank. He joins Dutch riders Lars Boom and Sebastian Langeveld, who will help at the northern classics next spring.

“Breschel has shown that he is one of the most talented riders for one-day races,” said Rabobank’s sports director, Erik Breukink, in August. “With him, we will be able to form a strong group.”

His switch to Rabobank group comes after six years with his country’s top team, Saxo Bank. Besides the spring classics, he help team-mate Jakob Fuglsang win the Tour of Denmark overall and took a stage win for himself. Last month, he finished second at the World Championship to Norwegian Thor Hushovd. After winning a bronze medal in 2008 and a silver medal this year, he dreams of gold next year when the race is at home in Copenhagen.

“The World Championships in Copenhagen takes place on a circuit where the sprinters will have a better chance than they did in Australia this year, so it is not so easy for me to have a chance,” Breschel said. “But I’m usually good at the World Championships, and I would give anything to win in front of my home crowd in Denmark. It’s a big dream to become World Champion, but to win it in your own country is unimaginable.”

Italian Alessandro Ballan was the last rider to win at home. He won the World Championships in Varese in 2008 when Breschel finished third.