Belgian left out of HTC's Vuelta and Britain rosters, contends he will not get the chance to prepare properly
Maxime Monfort was pre-selected for the World Championships to represent Belgium in the time trial and is a sure fire inclusion into the Belgian team's Worlds force, however, the winner of this year's Bayern Rundfahrt will not be attending. The HTC-Columbia rider recently spoke to La Derniere Heure and admitted that he will give up his spot on the team due to a less than ideal end of season schedule.
"I received my schedule for the end of the season from HTC-Columbia, and it's pretty sad. I'll race four Italian semi-classics, then I'll do Leuven, and the two ProTour events in Canada. That means I will not be doing the Vuelta a Espana or the Tour of Britain, the two events that are, in my view, essential to prepare for the World Championships."
The rider from Bastogne in Wallonia is not bitter about the decision and seems to not hold any ill will concerning his team's choices, in fact, it almost seems like he's not whining.
"It's a choice I respect. I was told it was necessary to give all riders the opportunity to ride a Grand Tour. Cavendish, who dreams of being world champion, wants to do the Vuelta. The problem with the Tour of Britain is that there are only six riders entered for the team. With us, it will be Renshaw and Greipel for the sprints, and Pinotti, Martin, Grabsch, and Rogers there to prepare for the Worlds time trial. I understand that they are a bit above me in this area."
While he understands the motivations behind the decisions, the new father does regret the lost opportunity in Australia, and isn't above voicing his disappointment.
"I would have loved to defend the colors of my country in Australia, but I do not want to go there with the program that I have. I cannot get myself to top condition with this schedule. It would be risky to go and then be criticized [if I didn't perform to expectations]. It's not worth the trouble."
At this time of year, there are only a number of topics worth talking about it seems: the Vuelta, Worlds, and the transfer market. Monfort spoke of the first two, and comes through to complete the trifecta when he talks of his future prospects. The ever improving Monfort will see his contract run out at the end of the year with the powerful HTC-Columbia team, and he's not sure what his next move will be.
"I have not decided about which team that I'll ride for. I'm still thinking. I'm not worried, I know for sure that I will find a team for next year. There are three concrete possibilities and one of them is still HTC-Columbia."
The 27 year old can count overall victory at the Bayern Rundfahrt plus the win in the decisive Stage 4 time trial to his palmares in 2010.