Breschel recovered from injuries and ready to go

Matti Breschel's first year with Rabobank could be summed up in one word, and the word he used himself was “crap”. After an injury-filled 2011, the Dane is ready to stay healthy and show again what he can do.

“Things are going well and I can feel that my form is good,” he told sporten.tv2.dk. “I can feel a tingling inside me as it always used to do at this part of the season.”

Breschel came to Rabobank last season to lead the Dutch team in the Spring Classics, but he ended up missing virtually the whole early part of the year with knee problems. He went into the Vuelta a Espana with an eye towards getting ready for the world championships in Copenhagen, but those hopes were dashed on the sixth stage. A crash in the neutral section led to hand surgery, which ended a frustrating season.

Now he feels well, though, and is ready to start anew. He opens his season at the Mallorca Challenge (February 5-9) and the Volta ao Algarve (February 15-19).

“And then the circus starts again in Belgium,” he said happily.

"So there's races like Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and the other classics. I have to ride the Amstel Gold Race and Liege-Bastogne-Liege this year instead of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix as usual."