Matti Breschel smiles on the podium, the season is almost over(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Matti Breschel (Denmark) on the podium with his silver medal.(Image credit: Sirotti)
Matti Breschel enjoys his moment on the podium(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Matti Breschel will look to start his Rabobank career at the Tour of Qatar next season as he builds up to his role as Classics leader for the first time in his career.
The Dane signed a two-year deal with the Dutch team after leaving Saxo Bank, where he rode under the wing of Fabian Cancellara. Breschel will now spearhead a young generation of Rabobank riders, including Lars Boom and Sebastien Langeveld.
“The emphasis is more or less on the Classics and I’ll do roughly the same programme as I’ve done in previous years,” Breschel told Cyclingnews.
“It’s the right time for me to be a leader. I’ve felt ready to try something new and Rabobank have given me that opportunity to be one of their main guys for the Classics.”
Breschel has spent his entire career with Bjarne Riis’s team but met up with his new teammates after the Tour of Lombardia. It was a brief introduction, with the management laying on a party in order to break the ice between the new and old riders. It also gave Breschel a chance to discuss his racing programme for next year.
“I don’t know too much yet. I met up with the team a week ago and we didn’t really talk about my programme too much. I know I’m not doing the Tour Down Under though,” he said.
Rabobank are no strangers to Danish Classics talent. For many years Rolf Sorensen led the line and won the Tour of Flanders in 1997, while also finishing second in the World Cup. Sorensen has long since retired but his advice helped Breschel decide on riding for Rabobank.
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“I just felt ready to try something new and now I’ve got the chance. Rolf was important in all of this. He gave me good advice. He always spoke positively about Rabobank and was one of the reasons why I came. When I got into cycling he was at Rabobank and he was one of reasons I wanted to be a pro.
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
