Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project's German one day specialist could find niche on all-star team
Eternal German hilly Classics hope, Fabian Wegmann, is looking to shed his almost there status in 2011 with his new Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project squad, but first, he has to make it through this year's stern winter.
The 30 year old former German national road race champion has been doing everything but bemoaning the snow and cold blanketing Europe so far this winter.
"The tough weather conditions of the last few weeks have not bothered me at all. On the contrary, I like them very much, because at this time of year, I like to strap on my cross-country skis. The early snowfall in the Black Forest this year has made conditions optimal."
Before getting started with his winter training, Wegmann took a well deserved rest after yet another long season highlighted by a repeat victory at the Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt.
Wegmann traveled to Morocco with teammate, Johannes Fröhlinger capped off with a foray into the Sahara Desert. After that, the native of Münster, who now lives in Freiburg, set off for his new team's first get together at Crans Montana in Switzerland.
"We spent eight great days at Crans Montana in Switzerland. I was very impressed - everything was super organized and the atmosphere was great."
Wegmann now has a week and a half to go before another, much more important team get together: the team presentation on January 6th in Luxembourg. After the festivities and the (at long last) announcement of the team's name, Wegmann and his colleagues will head to Mallorca for the squad's first on the bike training camp in preparation for the rapidly approaching new season.
Apart from winning Germany's second biggest one day race (behind the Vattenfall Cyclassics), Wegmann was never quite at the top of his game in 2010. Wegmann got out to a solid start in February with a 6th place finish in a stage of the Tour of Mallorca and a 4th place finish in a stage of the Tour of Andalucia. When the expected highlights in the Ardennes came, however, he could only manage a 16th place at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. He bounced back less than a week later to win in Frankfurt, but that would be the high point of his year.
2011 will be an interesting one for Wegmann. As the leader of a team, Wegmann has never managed to really shine, but as an x-factor teammate on a squad of superstars in the Ardennes, he could possibly get his chance. It seems as if a rider like Wegmann could get his big break as a powerful bullet in a mighty arsenal at the Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project. When all eyes are on the Schleck Brothers and perhaps even Fabian Cancellara in the Ardennes, Fabian Wegmann could be the rider that sneaks away late and tastes the greatest success of his career.