By Shane Stokes
Irish national champion Matt Brammeier is readying himself for what will be one of the most important seasons of his career, with the 28-year-old knowing the time is right to step up a level in terms of achievements.
The Liverpool-born rider declared for Ireland several years ago and since then has taken four consecutive national road race titles plus one time trial gold.
It’s a stunning run of results and, given that he beat riders such as Nicolas Roche, Dan Martin and Philip Deignan, suggests he has the potential to take some big international wins.
Thus far, though, he is yet to transform those nationals triumphs into victories on the world stage.
“Of course I need to win,” he accepted, looking ahead to his 2014 season targets. “I just need to win as many races as possible. To just kind of turn those near misses… into wins, hopefully.”
Advertisement
Those near misses in 2013 included stage four of the Tour of California; he attacked inside the final three kilometres and got a gap, but was reeled in six hundred metres from the line. He was also involved in several breakaways in other races that were hauled back prior to the finish.
To put it simply, he’s been banging on the door for some time but things haven’t yet worked out.
“I think I had a pretty consistent year, really,” Brammeier told stickybottle in Calpe, Spain.
“I didn’t have any really huge results. I nearly pulled it off a couple of times…like a stage in California and things like that, I was close.
“I was just really happy with how I was racing all year, really. I had a good start in the classics, I was really active and I got the most out of myself there.
“Throughout the year I didn’t really have any low points. I was just on a good level all year. I was happy with how it went.”
Happy is a relative term, of course. Brammeier is satisfied with his form and aggression, but less so with the final outcomes in those races.
Winning is the important thing, and so he’s hoping that a change in environment in 2014 will coincide with a jump in results. The aim is to turn his potential into actual podium time.
He’ll do so from within a new setup. Brammeier recently moved from the folding Champion System team to the Synergy Baku squad, accepting an offer made to him by the team’s general manager David McQuaid.
Talking about that transfer, he explained that he initially held off on signing a contract as he had hoped to be with a WorldTour team in 2014.
“I was talking to David [McQuaid] over at the worlds,” he said.
Related News
“We just got talking about the team. He made me a pretty good offer pretty early on and he gave me a bit of flexibility.
He knew I was still pursuing a WorldTour team, so he gave me a few weeks.
“He said see what happens and if it doesn’t work out, then this offer is still here with us. So it was pretty good.”
Brammeier was in talks with Saxo Bank this autumn but ultimately that didn’t go ahead. He said that having a plan B was hugely important in terms of taking off the mental pressure.
“It made it a lot easier this year with David giving me a bit of stability. I knew I wasn’t in the position a lot of other guys were, who had nothing. It was good to have that option just in case.
“Of course I wanted to be back in the WorldTour and I’m disappointed not to be, but it is how it is, I suppose. As I said, I am in a better position than a lot of guys, so I guess I’m lucky, really.”
Based in Belgium for several years, Brammeier has been spending a lot of time in Girona. He said he enjoys the quieter roads there, as well as a relatively stable weather system plus the wide range of terrain to train on.
He can also head out with other strong riders, including Irish Tour de France stage winner Dan Martin.
(Interview continues below advertisement)
While he spent some time back in Belgium lately, he is heading back to Girona and will likely remain there for some time.
“I think I will be there until the first races start. I do think we have another camp again sometime in January, but the dates are not confirmed yet,” he said.
“I think it is going to be the guys who aren’t racing in Australia. It will be in either Majorca or Girona…I am crossing my fingers it’s Girona.”
Slightly longer term, he will get his season underway at the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia. That begins on February 27th and he is planning on being in the necessary condition to chase results.
“I want to try hit it in good shape and get something out of it. I don’t want to just use it for form,” he explained.
“Normally it takes me a couple of races to really fire, but I want to try my best to be competitive as soon as I start. I don’t think I am going to have as many races in 2014 as I did in 2013, so I need to take every one of them and get the most out of every single race.
“I can’t really afford to be racing for training next year, I need to be good every day.
“Langkawi should be a good first race. I did it a few years back when I was under 23. It is a different race now, compared to then, it is a couple of days longer. There are a few more WorldTour teams now. There should obviously be nice weather, nice roads… I’m looking forward to it.”
Topics
