Ramsus Guldhammer in the colours of his old team HTC Highroad. He is riding the Rás for Denmark Blue Water and at third overall on equal time with first and second Marcin Bialoblocki (UK Youth) and Ireland's Connor McConvey (Synergy Baku) he still feels he can win; a result that might help usher him back into the big time.
By Gerard Cromwell
While most of the Rás focus of the past week has been on the battle between race leader Marcin Bialoblocki and second placed Irishman Connor McConvey, the young Dane Ramsus Guldhammer of the Blue Water Cycling team has been quietly lurking in third place, tied on the same time as the leading duo.
While Bialoblocki and McConvey are both very good riders in their own right, 24-year-old Guldhammer has quite a pedigree.
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As well as becoming Danish national road race and team time trial champion in 2009, Guldhammer won the U23 Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic and was second in the U23 Tour of Flanders that year.
“It was really nice to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege,” Guldhammer told stickybottle.
“I had some good results that year, and was also second in Flanders but maybe I was too young to turn pro.”
With such an impressive palmares behind him, Guldhammer was courted by most of the top teams for 2010, eventually signing for the HTC Highroad team.
Although he finished sixth in the GP Herning and seventh overall at the Tour of Denmark as a neo pro, Guldhammer didn’t fare as well when he raced abroad, becoming homesick each time he returned to his new base in Italy.
“I was only 19 years old and maybe not mature enough to turn pro but when you get the offer from a lot of teams you have to take the chance. Hopefully I get a contract next year with another team.”
“I took a few months off and then signed with a Danish continental team. This is my third year after HTC and finally I have found the level for racing again and competing at the top level so hopefully I can do a good ride tomorrow and win and hopefully get a good contract for next year.”
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Guldhammer in the kit of Denmark Blue Water, the team he's riding the An Post Rás with this week.
Although he didn’t manage to escape the clutches of race leader Bialoblocki on the road to Naas today, Guldhammer has one last chance on the undulating final stage to Skerries tomorrow, which may come down to a couple of tough ascents of the Blackhills on the finishing circuit.
Growing up in Viejle, Denmark, Guldhammer didn’t realise he could climb until he went on a family holiday to Italy one summer.
“Back home in Denmark it’s quite flat and it’s not easy to find big climbs,” he says.
“Once I found out I could do it though, I quickly realised how nice it is to go hard up the mountains. Hopefully I can attack on the climbs tomorrow but the yellow jersey looks strong and his team were stronger than yesterday so it’s going to be hard. But we also have Daniel Foder in sixth place, 46 seconds down, so we have two guys to go for it. If he wins, I’m happy. Now we just have to go home and plan our tactics for the race tomorrow.”
A victory at the An Post Rás would probably be enough to persuade the top teams that Guldhammer is back and earn him a pro contract again next season so watch out for the Viking raider tomorrow.
“I talked with some French teams last year,” he says.
“Brian Holm was helping me to make the contacts but I didn’t have the results, so hopefully I can win this race and be with that team next year, with a bit of luck.”
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