HTC-High Road director feels that the sky is the limit for Danish powerhouse rider
There has been little doubt about the caliber of the talent of Denmark’s Alex Rasmussen. The powerful Saxo Bank time trialist and sprinter has shown himself as a rider with huge potential in his two years with Bjarne Riis’s team, but according to his new director at HTC-High Road, Brian Holm, Rasmussen “is quite simply the strongest rider I’ve ever seen.”
The former Danish racer turned director sportif for Bob Stapleton’s hugely successful team has seen a few riders in his time, but is particularly impressed with the multi-time track world champion.
“His physique, his engine, is impressive. Alex is a unique talent`where he can set the limits to how much he wants to achieve within the sport,” said Holm to Fyens Stiftstidende.
Such has been the 26 year old’s impression on his Danish compatriot that Holm sees huge results in the not so distant future for Rasmussen.
“I can, for example, easily see him as World Champion in two years.”
To achieve such a lofty success, Holm feels that Rasmussen will have to focus himself and do things 100% correctly.
“Alex has always been such a talent, that most of it has come easily for him. Now, he must learn to live like a real professional cyclist.”
Top amongst the necessary points that Rasmussen will need to focus on will be his training and his weight, two things that he can count on getting the top help available with.
“He will be guided with respect to, among other things, training and diet. We hope to see Alex lost between four and five kilograms.”
With the incredible engine that Rasmussen possesses, a 4-5 kilogram lighter version of the Dane could see a completely transformed rider, and with his new team, there will no doubt be opportunities for the burgeoning talent to show himself in 2011.
Rasmussen’s move to HTC-High Road from Saxo Bank will see a significantly more difficult schedule than in previous years. The rider is set to take on a full Classics schedule with the spring’s biggest races with only the Tour of Flanders not on his agenda: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Nokere Koerse, E3 Prijs, Gent-Wevelgem, the Scheldeprijs, and Paris-Roubaix. Following what will be a highly anticipated spring campaign, Rasmussen is hoping to gain a coveted spot as one of Mark Cavendish’s leadout men in July’s Tour de France.
The loss of the likes of Fabian Cancellara, Matti Breschel, and Stuart O’Grady from Saxo Bank over the transfer season might have seemed dramatic, but if Rasmussen turns into the rider that Holm does, Riis’s losses could be substantially more significant, and Bob Stapleton’s HTC-High Road team could be looking at a real contender in not only the cobbled classics, but also the time trials. Dare the comparison to Fabian Cancellara be made?