Matt Brammeier said that while it was a good afternoon for Team Dimension Data and their main man Edvald Boasson Hagen, his own day wasn't one he'll look back on with many fond memories. (Picture courtesy of Team Dimension Data)
By Brian Canty
Matt Brammeier was one of three Irishmen who finished Paris Roubaix today but he was more than a little disappointed with how events played out for him personally.
While proud of his teammate Edvald Boasson Hagen for notching fifth, the Dimension Data man said it was a forgettable experience with so many crashes and in his case, bad luck.
“It wasn’t much fun to be honest,” he told stickybottle this evening as he headed back to the UK.
“I didn’t really enjoy it, it was pretty scary. A few of them (cobbled) sections were really dicey.
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“It was nice to finish and do a job for the team and see Eddie have a good result but it wasn’t the most enjoyable of days,” he added.
Brammeier’s mandate was to keep an eye on the break at the start and make sure nobody dangerous got away.
“That was hard with so many guys trying to go clear,” he reflected.
“It was 70 kilometres or so before a break that we deemed a ‘good one’ went.”
But disaster struck before he hit the first cobbled sector around the 100-kilometre mark.
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“We were leading into the first cobbled section but had a couple of punctures at the same time.
“Cav punctured and I punctured and I had to stick with him and chase back on on my own.
“I was just playing catch-up all day and I got stuck behind a couple of crashes then after that, including the big one in the Arenberg Forest.
“The road was totally blocked, a couple of guys on the floor looked in bad shape and it cracked me then for the rest of the day.”
He kept ploughing on and managed to get himself into a sizeable group that just rode to the line.
“I tried to come back in a group but it was never going to happen; we had to stop for another crash that I managed to get the brakes on and use the cyclocross skills that Nikki (Harris - fiancée) taught me!”
With Boasson Hagen the plan for the team, things looked to be going their way when he came into the velodrome in a group with Ian Stannard, Sep Vanmarcke, Tom Boonen and eventual winner Matt Hayman.
Alas, he would 'only' manage fifth of that group.
“There’s mixed feeling for Eddie, he was happy to be in the final, it’s best ever result here and of course he’s happy but when you go into the velodrome you’re going in there to win.
“It’s always disappointed to come out without the win but we’re all proud of him.
“We went out and fought and did a good job and there are promising things to come, especially from Cav.
“He was really strong today, riding the cobbles well and I think he can win this race if he puts his mind to it.”
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