By Katharina Schulz
Even though it was an open secret that Team CSC was interested in signing the young Danish talent Alex Rasmussen, he decided to sign with a smaller team from his home country. "It's going to be exciting to see how Team Designa Køkken is going to develop in the future. I actually think that I have bigger chances to ride the big races and maybe win them than I might probably have had at Team CSC. I am very much looking forward to trying something new and developing myself further as a rider," the 23 year-old told feltet.dk.
As feltet.dk reported, he already came to an agreement with Team Designa Køkkken about three weeks ago, but the formal contract was signed a couple of days ago. Rasmussen also had an offer from another Danish team, GLS, from where several riders have left to join Team CSC. "I am very happy about the agreement. I thought that GLS and Designa are quite similar, but I chose Designa because I think that the Jutish mentality suits me best." (Designa Køkken is based in Silkeborg, a small town near Århus in the Danish region of Jutland. - ed.)
Rasmussen has signed a one-year contract to allow more flexibility. "We take one year at a time. That way I can see what opportunities there are for me," the Danish champion from Odense said.
The one goal for next season is the Olympics, which take place in August in Beijing, along with the track World Championships and the Danish Championships. "After the track season finishes with the World Championships in March, I am going to take a little break and then start training up towards the season's first big goal, Colliers Classic, which I would very much like to win. After that I'm going to focus on the Danish Championships, which are going to be the season's other big goal before the Olympics. The route for the Danish National Championships is very hard, but I hope that I still can get a good result and maybe finish top five."
Those goals, however, collide with Denmark's most important race apart from the Nationals: the Tour of Denmark. "It is really annoying that the Tour of Denmark is at the same time as the Olympics. But I'm really looking forward to the Olympics, after which I very much would like to come home in top shape. The team has a lot of races in Belgium on the calendar, where I can help the team, but also get good results myself. I'm hoping to show the team what I'm good for at that then," he concluded.
