Top Danish talent frustrated to come up short in today’s sprint finish
Following a great solo victory at the Dwars Door Vlaanderen in March, Saxo Bank’s Matti Breschel, has gone winless since. The 2009 Danish National Champion just missed out on victory today to Topsport Vlaanderen’s Michael van Staeyen, and admitted that he was not too excited to come up short of his second win of the season.
Speaking with feltet.dk, Breschel was frank about his thoughts on the day: “It has been a long time since I’ve won a race, and I feel that the form is there. I crave a win at home, on Danish soil. So clearly, I’m not too satisfied with second place today.”
Breschel, normally known for his attacking style, didn’t have a chance to go on the attack in the waning kilometers of another difficult day. It was his teammate, fellow Dane and two-time Post Danmark Rundt winner, Jakob Fuglsang, who did the honors at the head of the race before being swept up in the final kilometer.
“It’s great to see what Jakob can do. He created the race and seized the opportunity. Actually, he was very close to me when he went, and then he just rode away. Damn. Nobody could hold his wheel – that was class. He also showed that he is a level better than everyone else.”
Fuglsang, a powerful time trialist and obviously in great form at the moment, is the likely Saxo Bank hope for overall victory, but Breschel will not be losing out on any chances himself in the coming days.
“We’ve wagered our bets on multiple cards in all of the years I’ve raced the Tour of Denmark with the team. We will take it as it comes. We will take matters into our own hands and make the race. We must of course make sure that Jakob and Jens do not lose any time, but that’s not to say that the rest of us cannot win.”
Breschel is hesitant to count himself as a possibility for the overall victory in his homeland. His time trialing abilities are not nearly to the level of Voigt and Fuglsang, and he admits that it’s not possible… “Unless I can finish solo with a gap of two minutes, so maybe I’ll try that. I will give everything in the time trial, but it will probably be a little too much.”
Outside of his stage and overall chances at the Tour of Denmark, there’s nothing more intriguing than where the improving one day race talent will end up in 2011. Breschel will, of course, not say where he’s going just yet, but rumor has it that he could be headed either to one of Belgium’s top teams next season or perhaps Rabobank. The news shouldn’t be too far off though, as Breschel hopes to find out where he’s going by next week.