Matt Brammeier has not made his team's Tour de France squad despite some very good form this year. He has been let down just before Grand Tours in the past, but says he accepts and understands the MTN-Qhubeka Tour selection for next month's race and is hopeful of riding the Vuelta later in the season instead (Photo: Sirotti)
By Shane Stokes
Although he wasn’t on the 11-man shortlist for MTN-Qhubeka’s Tour de France team when it was announced last Tuesday, thus missing out on the race, Matt Brammeier has confirmed it is still possible for him to make his Grand Tour debut this season.
The multiple Irish national road race champion has confirmed to stickybottle that he is in line for selection for the team’s second major wildcard invite, the Vuelta a España.
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“Of course I wanted to go to the Tour, but with the way the team is, with the African side of it, it is difficult,” he said.
“The sponsors wanted a majority of African guys there.”
The team is registered in South Africa and has a very strong African identity, with 13 out of the team’s 23 riders coming from the continent.
It has made a big push based on its assertion that it is the first African team to ever ride the race, although a North African team rode the 1950 Tour de France.
Barloworld, another team with a strong South African identity, was registered in Britain and Italy when it did the Tour.
Still, it is undoubtedly the case that the team’s identity was a huge part of it getting the wildcard to the Tour.
Brammeier accepts this and sees it as a factor in the selections made.
“If it wasn’t for those guys, there wouldn’t be the team and it wouldn’t be in the race. Also, they are good bike riders.”
Brammeier riding for the Synergy Baku team of David McQuaid last season, on his way to 2nd place on the Tour of Langkawi opening stage. He won the climbers' classification in the event.
The shortlist announced by MTN-Qhubeka on Tuesday June 2 includes seven African riders, with just four internationals in consideration.
These are former Tour de France stage winners Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway) and Tyler Farrar (USA), the Briton Steve Cummings and the Belgian Serge Pauwels.
Amongst those missing are the former Milan Sanremo winners Matt Goss and Gerald Ciolek.
“Matt is a great support rider,” said general manager Brian Smith, explaining the non-selection of the Irishman.
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“If we went there with ambitious for leadouts and other things he would stand a chance. But we are going there for stages so it will be opportunists and things like that.”
Smith said that he believed Brammeier was still trying to make up for the uncertainty he faced over the winter.
He was without a contract and only received confirmation that MTN-Qhubeka would take him on in January.
He inked a two-year deal and Smith believes that with a good year of racing behind him that he will be stronger in 2016.
Brammeier feels he is already stepping things up, having been able to get in plenty of racing this year.
Starting his time trial efforst at the World Championships in Copenhagen in 2011; Brammeier should be right in the mix for selection for Richmond in September (Photo: Sirotti)
“I came out of California really good. I got over jetlag well,” he told stickybottle.
“The numbers are good, I am ready to get stuck into next few weeks.”
Indeed he went close to a victory last Thursday on stage one of the Tour of Luxembourg, going clear in a break and then pushing out alone towards the end.
He was finally caught with two and a half kilometres remaining
In the coming weeks he will compete in the ZLM Toer and the Tour of Austria, then return to Ireland for the national championships.
“I have a whole block of racing,” he said. “I want to try to get something out of the next few weeks.”
Beyond that, it appears the Vuelta a España could well be on the cards.
“I spoke with Brian [Smith] a couple of days ago. I think he wants me there. I just have to get into good shape and show that I am going well.
“I hope I get to do it. It has always been something I am aiming for, something I wanted to do.
“I was let down a couple of times in the past by teams just before Grand Tours. It has always been a dream to ride one.
“I think it will also be very good for me. To get a good block in before the off season should help me a lot heading towards the Classics next year.”
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