Matt Brammeier riding the 2011 Paris-Roubaix with HTC Highroad. He had a great year with the team, which had offered him an enhanced and extended contract. But the squad collapsed at the end of that first season with them. Since then the four-time national champion has ridden 2012 with Omega Pharma-Quickstep and rode this year with Champion System, which is now folding. He's hoping for some contract stability to prove his worth and while still without a ride for next year he's confident he will secure one.
By Brian Canty
National champion Matt Brammeier leaves China tomorrow, Thursday, bound for the Japan Cup on Sunday for what he hopes will be a successful end of season for him.
The Champion System man has just ridden the Tour of Beijing, which concluded on Monday. But he did not perform as well as he would have liked. It was a blow considering his team is folding and he is currently searching for a new contract for next year.
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“I was pretty disappointed with how I was feeling,” he said of Beijing.
“The first few days I felt really average with the jetlag, and then I didn’t progress or ride into the race at all. I think I had some good form the last few weeks and my guess is, with the one-day racing program and not much training, I lost a bit if condition.”
“It’s not the end of the world, but I would have liked to have been a little more involved in the racing; racing like the normal me.”
Monday’s summit finish was the decisive stage in China, but the four-time national champion conceded over 15 minutes to the winner.
“The climb wasn’t too tough, none of the climbs here are super hard," he said.
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"It's just a slow war of attrition. The air quality was affecting the riders in quite a big way too, and also just the fact we’re at our last race of the year and everyone is pretty tired.”
As regards the ongoing quest for a team, he revealed he has nothing yet in place.
“I’m still working on it. There are a few options and a few things that are still up in the air. The season is almost done now so these guys will hit full focus onto filling out the teams and signing their last riders. So I’m hoping it won’t be too long. But I know for sure I won’t be serving burgers next year anyway.”
Rumours emerged in recent days that he would return to An Post-Chainreaction for 2014, but that’s unlikely.
“I had a brief chat with Kurt (Bogaerts, manager) about the team. And that was that. Nothing more has come of it since. So as far as signing there goes; not as far as I know.”
For a rider who has been a member of some of the biggest teams in the world, and done a very good job, one would imagine it would be easier to find a slot in a new line-up. But Brammeier explains it doesn’t work like that.
“I don’t feel like I deserve anything,” he said.
“I had some bad luck over the last few years with one-year contracts. I believe I have a real niche as a good solid domestique. A no-frills rider who can look after his team mates. One who can do his job in a variety of races.”
“The collapse of HTC Highroad has kind of thrown me into this war zone of one year contracts, where it’s always hard to split the balance of working for the team and bagging some results yourself.”
“But my aim is to be a part of a solid professional team, for more than one year, so that I can prove my worth a bit more and show what I can do.”
“I have always said there are only so many winners in this sport. Then there are the guys like me. We can win races on our day, with a bit of luck and motivation. But if we really want to remain in this sport with some type of security, we need to not only be a good domestique but we need to be the guy the team leader calls and asks for you at his race because he values what you do for him. For me that is success.”
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