T-Mobile go to Paris-Roubaix brimming with confidence
Burghardt, Hammond and Eisel lead team at cobbled-classic
Doubt over Servais Knaven’s fitness after crash on Wednesday
After Wednesday’s double success at Gent-Wevelgem; the T-Mobile Team
approach Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix (April 15) brimming with confidence.
Spring-season sensation Marcus Burghardt showed on Wednesday that
he knows how to win on cobbles, and he is now a strong contender for a
top placing at the torturous race they call ‘l'Enfer du Nord’ - the Hell of the
North.
"I feel very strong at the moment and I am confident that I can match the
best riders at Paris-Roubaix," quipped Burghardt. However, the 23-year old
German power-house was quick to draw attention to the greater difficulty
of Sunday’s pavé-classic. “Paris-Roubaix has a different character, it’s
60km longer and much tougher, but I'm certainly motivated and I have
loads of confidence.”
The lanky Burghardt knows the race well. In 2004 he placed fourth here in
the U-23 race, and he lists the ‘Queen of the Classics’ as his favourite
race. "It is fun to race on this unique course. I like the special atmosphere
here and, as I always say: 'Paris-Roubaix is the world’s greatest cyclocross
race...'
Roger Hammond is no stranger to cyclo-cross either, nor is he a stranger
to Paris-Roubaix. The 33-year-old Briton enjoyed his finest career moment
here back in 2004, placing third in Roubaix’s old concrete Velodrome. And
the man who took second ahead of the stocky Briton that day is none other
than Hammond’s current team director Tristan Hoffman:
"Roger’s strong and gutsy ride paved the way for Marcus to win in
Wevelgem. Fair play to him for the cool way he worked over Freire and
Ventoso in the finale. Paris-Roubaix is one of his big season objectives
and he is ready," says Hoffman.
Indeed, if there was a "man of the match" award at Gent-Wevelgem, then it
would surely have gone to Hammond for his perfect team play. Now,
buoyed by form and results, Hammond is hungry for more team success in
France.
“Wednesday’s race was really good for the confidence. I am really looking
forward to Paris-Roubaix; it’s an absolutely massive race and a great race
to get on the podium. We have a really strong team and many cards to
play. Tactically, the sporting managers got it spot on yesterday, so lets see
what they have planned for us in France.”
Bernhard Eisel is the other trump card the team can play. The Austrian
sprinter was fifth in Roubaix last season, and would dearly love the chance
to use his top-end speed in a small group sprint for the podium.
"It’s a dream situation for a sporting director to have so many options at my
disposal", quips Tristan Hoffman, who also sees Andreas Klier in a key
role: "Andreas is getting stronger by the day, and he’s a dark horse to pull
off a surprise on Sunday."
Joining the quartet on the stone torture test over 28 stretches of cobbles -
52.7 km in total – from Compiegne to Roubaix (259km) in France's northeast
are Bert Grabsch, Lorenzo Bernucci and sprinter Eric Baumann.
A question mark hangs over Servais Knaven’s fitness to start on Sunday.
The Dutchman came off his bike and landed in a gutter during Gent-
Wevelgem. "Servais suffered bruised ribs, which are giving him pain," says
Hoffman, but he plans to give Knaven all the time he needs to make the
cut. However, if the Dutch veteran fails to regain race fitness in time, then
US rider Aaron Olson will slot in as the team’s eighth man on Sunday.
The T-Mobile roster in brief:
Eric Baumann (27), Lorenzo Bernucci (27/Italy), Marcus Burghardt (23),
Bernhard Eisel (26/Austria), Roger Hammond (33/Great Britain), Bert
Grabsch (31), Andreas Klier (31), Servais Knaven (36/Netherlands).
Sporting directror: Tristan Hoffman (Netherlands) and Brian Holm
(Denmark)
For the latest news and updates on the T-Mobile Team go to www.tmobile-
team.com
