Former cyclocross world champion prefers to see Dutch team focus on Dutch talent
The future of Danish top one-day prospect, Matti Breschel, seems very much in the air. The 2009 Danish National Champion has been linked with various teams over the last month – right now it looks possible that he could end up staying with either Bjarne Riis’s SunGard team in 2011, perhaps move over to the Nygaard/Andersen team in Luxembourg, or maybe even head to the Netherlands to add firepower to an underachieving (in the Classics) Rabobank team.
The latest rumors report that Breschel could be close to a two-year agreement with the Dutch squad, and one of the Netherlands’s biggest hopes, Lars Boom, is none too pleased about the possible addition to the team.
“It is a sign from the team management that the Classics squad is not good enough and that they are dissatisfied with their riders. I think otherwise: we delivered a good performance in the Spring Classics this year, and I think it is totally unnecessary to have Matti Breschel in the team.”
The former World Cyclocross Champion would prefer to see the team use its assets to support up and coming Dutch talent in the coming seasons.
“Next year, there are many Dutch classics specialists that will be moving up to the next level – I think we should concentrate on them instead.”
While Boom’s nationalistic sentiments might not lend much acceptance to the possible move, it would be an excellent signing for Rabobank heading into 2011. Previous big hope signing from Belgium, Nick Nuyens, had a dud of a season and could possibly be on the way out in 2011. Breschel could serve as a great non-Dutch replacement and perhaps push the squad to the next level and finally put them on par with the great Cobbled Classic teams like the current Saxo Bank team and QuickStep.
The winner of the Dwars Door Vlaanderen in 2010 has showed himself as one of the biggest talents for the coming years with a strong showing this Spring. Breschel has proved to not only have the abilities to go toe to toe with virtually anyone on the cobbles, he can also acquit himself very well in a sprint: the bunch sprint victory in Madrid on the final day of the Vuelta in 2008 is a good example.