Matti Breschel (born 31 August 1984) is a Danish retired professional

road racing cyclist Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

, who competed between 2005 and 2019 for the , , and teams.

Career

Junior career

Born in

Ballerup Ballerup is a Danish town, seat of the Ballerup Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden. There are approximately 25 schools in Ballerup Municipality. Ballerup has its own educational institution specialized in the study, training and research of ...

, Breschel got his breakthrough with small Danish

Team PH Team Capinordic was a Danish UCI Continental cycling team A cycling team is a group of cycle sport, cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle racing, bicycle races whether amateur or professional – and t ...

, finishing 6th at the U/23 Cycling World Championship in

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

in 2004 where he helped fellow Dane Mads Christensen finish 3rd. He also won the bronze medal at the Danish National

Road Racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

Championship during the summer of 2004.

Team CSC (2005–2010)

2005

He turned professional for the 2005 season in Denmark based , where he signed a two-year contract. At the press conference, regarding his choice to join Team CSC in October 2004, he stated that he simply wished to adjust to the rigors of professional cycling, saying "''I hope to get in the team, but in the beginning I just want to learn the game and to learn the races. Somewhere I know that I'm in for a beating."''Matti Breschel signs for CSC
by CyclingNews.com, 21 October 2004 Under tutelage of seasoned veteran

Lars Michaelsen Lars Michaelsen (born 13 March 1969) is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer who last rode for Team CSC. He got his break through in his second year as a professional, when he won the 1995 edition of Gent–Wevelgem. In the 1997 Vuelta ...

, Breschel would start the season in the

Tour of Qatar The Tour of Qatar was an annual professional cycling stage race held in Qatar. First organized in 2002, the event was part of the UCI Asia Tour until 2016. The 2017 edition was to have seen the event upgraded to the UCI World Tour for the first ...

, where the two riders finished side by side, Breschel conceding the final victory to Michaelsen. They would ride a number of classics and smaller races together, and Breschel finished in a number of secondary placings, just missing the victory podiums.

2006

For the start of the 2006 season, he once again showed himself in Tour of Qatar, finishing as the best young rider of the race for the second year in a row. He showed his good form in March with a third-place finish in

Le Samyn Le Samyn is an annual single-day road bicycle race in Belgium, held usually in late February or early March. The event was created in 1968 as ''Grand Prix de Fayt-le-Franc'', named after the former municipality where it started and finished. In 1 ...

, being beaten only by

Philippe Gilbert Philippe Gilbert (born 5 July 1982) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, who is best known for winning the World Road Race Championships in 2012, and for being one of two riders, along with Davide Rebellin, to have won the three ...

in the bunch sprint of the peloton, and a few days later he sprinted his way to second place at stage 2 of the

Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen Dwars door West-Vlaanderen is a road bicycle race through the Belgian province of West Flanders. History The race was originally created unter the name Omloop der Vlaamse Ardennen (''English'': Tour of the Flemish Ardennes) in 1945 as a one-day ...

where he was second only to world class sprinter

Robbie McEwen Robbie McEwen (born 24 June 1972) is an Australian former professional road cyclist. McEwen is a three-time winner of the Tour de France points classification and, at the peak of his career, was considered the world's fastest sprinter. He las ...

. For the third, and last, stage of the race, Breschel would once more sprint against McEwen, with the winner taking the overall victory of the race, this time with the effect that both riders crashed. Breschel broke his

vertebrae The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic i ...

in two places and McEwen was de-classed in the race.

2007

He came back with thunder and lightning in 2007 and came in an impressive 14th at the

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Monuments' or classics of the ...

, which his team-mate

Stuart O'Grady Stuart O'Grady (born 6 August 1973) is a retired Australian professional road bicycle racer, who rode as a professional between 1995 and 2013. A former track cyclist, O'Grady and Graeme Brown won a gold medal in the Men's Madison at the 2004 S ...

won. After recovering he won his first victory as a professional in stage 2 of

Danmark Rundt Danmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known as PostN ...

in August 2007. This was the first Danish stage win in five years of this national tour.

2008

In 2008 his best season came and he got his first big international breakthrough when he on 8 June 2008, won the Philadelphia International Championship also known as the Commerce Bank International Championship in Philadelphia, PA where he outsprinted all contenders in a little bunch sprint after a long and hard race. A couple of weeks later he went on to take another impressive victory when he won the 2nd stage of

Ster Elektrotoer The ZLM Tour is a cycling race held over five stages, held in the southern Netherlands and Belgium as a 2.Pro race on the UCI ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is the second tier men's elite road cycling tour. It was inaugurated in 2020. The series ...

, a stage finishing on the feared

Cauberg The Cauberg is a hill in Valkenburg aan de Geul, a town in the South Limburg region of the Netherlands. The hill played an important role in the early development of tourism in Valkenburg. Today, several major tourist attractions are situated on or ...

and also won the overall points jersey. He maintained his good form through the season and also came in 2nd in the Danish Road Racing Championship, only beaten by his teammate

Nicki Sørensen Nicki Sørensen (born 14 May 1975) is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer, and was directeur sportif of UCI Professional Continental team . He competed in five consecutive editions of the Tour de France from 2001 to 2005. Riding as a ...

. In August he won two stages at Tour of Denmark and also led the overall classification until the final time trial securing him a total fifth place. After all a very impressive season for the young gun the biggest scalp came on 21 September where he won the last stage of the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...

in Madrid in a very convincing way only a few days after he came in second in the 17th stage of the

. Only a week later Breschel rode very impressively at the world cycling championships finishing 3rd and getting a bronze medal.

2009

Breschel had his best cobbled classics campaign ever in 2009. He managed to finish 6th at the

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and organi ...

and 9th at the Paris-Roubaix. In June he became the Danish National Road Race Champion, and he also won stages in the

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse ( en, Tour of Switzerland) is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France ...

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; en, Tour of Catalonia, es, Vuelta a Cataluña, link=no) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of th ...

Tour de Luxembourg The Tour de Luxembourg is an annual stage race in professional road bicycle racing held in Luxembourg. The Tour de Luxembourg is classified as a 2.Pro race, the highest rating below the World Tour, by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the ...

and

Post Danmark Rundt Danmark Rundt is a Denmark, Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known ...

. He managed to finish 2nd at the

Vattenfall Cyclassics The Hamburg Cyclassics (currently known as the Bemer Cyclassics for sponsorship purposes) is an annual one-day professional and amateur cycling race in and around Hamburg, Germany. Although the route varies, its distance is always around 250 ...

2010

During the 2010 season Breschel rode well in the Cobbled Classics but suffered from bad luck. Breschel won

Dwars door Vlaanderen Dwars door Vlaanderen ''( en, Across Flanders)'' is a semi-classic road bicycle race in Belgium, held annually since 1945. The race starts in Roeselare and finishes in Waregem, both in West Flanders. Since 2017 the event is included in the UCI W ...

and put in strong performances in

Gent–Wevelgem Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic cycle races, classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late ...

and Ronde Vlaanderen, but suffered mechanical defects in both races.

Rabobank (2011–2012)

He signed for for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. In the

2012 Paris–Roubaix The 2012 Paris–Roubaix was the 110th running of the Paris–Roubaix single-day cycling race, often known as the ''Hell of the North''. It was held on 8 April 2012 over a distance of and was the tenth race of the 2012 UCI World Tour season. 's T ...

he was troubled by a knee injury. However a week before that, he had finished 9th at the

. He was also on the podium at the Gent-Wevelgem. Breschel left at the end of the 2012 season, and joined the Danish team on a two-year contract from the 2013 season onwards.

Saxo-Tinkoff (2013–2015)

In his return to the former

Team CSC Tinkoff () was a Russian-registered professional cycling team from Russia and previously Denmark. It competed in the UCI World Tour. The team was owned by Russian Oleg Tinkov and, from 1999 until March 2015, was managed by former Tour de France w ...

squad, Breschel managed to pick up four stage wins at the

– two each in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. He also won 2 stages and the overall at the

Cannondale (2016)

Breschel signed for for the 2016 season. He rode the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

but abandoned the race on stage 14 after crashing. His best results in the season were, 5th at the

GP du canton d'Argovie Grand Prix of Aargau Canton (german: Grosser Preis des Kantons Aargau) is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Aargau canton, one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. The race consists of fifteen laps around the Swiss town of ...

and 6th at

Heistse Pijl The Heistse Pijl is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in June around the municipality of Heist-op-den-Berg, Belgium. Since 2016, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of r ...

Astana (2017)

Breschel did not have the best year at Astana, and his best result was 12th at Dwaars door Vlaanderen, a race he had previously won in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

EF Education First–Drapac (2018–2019)

Breschel returned to the team after a year in colors. He finished 9th on a wet stage 5 in the Paris-Nice. At the Milan-San Remo, Breschel sprinted home in 12th position. He announced his retirement on 18 August 2019, effective from the end of the season, due to psoriatic arthritis.

Major results

;2001 : National Junior Road Championships ::1st MaillotDinamarca

Road race ::3rd

Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

;2003 : 6th

Fyen Rundt Fyen Rundt is a professional single-day cycling race held annually in Denmark. It is part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste In ...

;2004 : 1st Giro del Canavese : 1st Stage 3 Circuit des Ardennes : 1st Stage 2

Ringerike GP Ringerike Grand Prix is a road bicycle race held annually near Hønefoss, in the region of Ringerike, Norway. The race was created in 1975 as the Fossen Grand Prix, and was ranked 2.2 on the UCI Europe Tour between 2005 and 2010. In 2011 it turn ...

: 3rd Road race, National Road Championships : 6th Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships : 6th

Paris–Roubaix Espoirs Paris–Roubaix Espoirs is a one-day road cycling race held annually in France. In 2005 the race was integrated into the UCI Europe Tour as a category 1.2U race. Held since 1967, it is the under-23 version of the Monument classic Paris–Roubaix ...

: 10th Overall

Le Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux Le Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux is a Belgian cycling road race. It was first held in 1996. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 2.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing compe ...

;2005 : 2nd Overall

::1st

Young rider classification : 3rd Road race, National Road Championships : 4th

GP Herning Grand Prix Herning is a one-day road bicycle race, held in ''Midtjylland'', Denmark. The race is organised by Herning Bicycle Club with both start and goal in Herning. The race is characterised by its gravel paths, which result in multiple punct ...

: 4th

Paris–Bourges Paris–Bourges is a French road bicycle race. The race originally started in Paris and ran to the town of Bourges in the Région Centre. However, in recent year with the length of races shortened it has become impossible to link the two cities a ...

: 4th

Grand Prix d'Isbergues Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...

: 5th Overall

Circuit Franco-Belge Circuit may refer to: Science and technology Electrical engineering * Electrical circuit, a complete electrical network with a closed-loop giving a return path for current ** Analog circuit, uses continuous signal levels ** Balanced circu ...

;2006 : 3rd Overall

::1st

Young rider classification : 3rd

: 6th Overall

::1st

Young rider classification : 7th

Reading Classic The Reading Classic was an annual bicycle road racing event held in Reading, Pennsylvania from 2006 to 2008. In its inaugural year, the 2006 Reading Classic was part of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling on the United States' Pro Cycling T ...

;2007 :

Tour of Ireland The Tour of Ireland (Irish: Turas na hÉireann, known from 1985 to 1992 as the Nissan Classic) was a bicycle stage race held in August, which ran for 35 editions over a 56-year period. Irish rider Seán Kelly recorded the most wins, four. Th ...

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stage 2 : 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 2 : 3rd

: 4th Overall

: 7th

: 9th Overall

Sachsen Tour The Sachsen Tour is a multi-stage road bicycle race held in the region of Saxony, Germany. It was first held in 1985 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicyc ...

;2008 : 1st

Philadelphia International Championship The Philadelphia International Championship was an annual bicycle race held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was described as "America's top international cycling classic, and one of the richest and most prestigious one day races outside of Euro ...

: 1st Stage 21

: 2nd Road race, National Road Championships : 3rd Bronze medal blank

Road race,

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

: 5th Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stages 2 & 3 : 5th Overall

::1st Stage 2 : 6th

Trofeo Laigueglia The Trofeo Laigueglia is an early season road bicycle race held annually in Liguria, Italy. From 2005 to 2014, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is held about ten days after the opening to the Italian season, the Gr ...

: 7th

E3 Prijs Vlaanderen E3 Saxo Bank Classic, previously known as E3 BinckBank Classic, E3 Harelbeke, Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke and E3-Prijs Vlaanderen, is an annual road cycling race in Flanders, Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke, covering 203 kil ...

: 8th

;2009 : 1st MaillotDinamarca

Road race, National Road Championships : 1st Stage 4

: 1st Stage 2

: 2nd

: 3rd Overall

::1st

Young rider classification : 4th Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stage 4 : 5th Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stage 1 : 6th

: 7th Road race,

: 10th

;2010 : 1st

: 2nd

Road race,

: 2nd

Gran Piemonte The Giro del Piemonte, since 2009 known also as Gran Piemonte, is a semi classic European bicycle race held in the Apennine Mountains, Italy. The race first took place in 1906. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI ...

: 3rd

: 5th Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stage 3 : 8th

;2012 : 1st Stage 3

Vuelta a Burgos Vuelta Ciclista a Burgos is an elite professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Burgos province of Spain. The men's Vuelta a Burgos has been a multi-day stage race as part of the UCI Europe Tour since 2005. In 2019, a multi-day wo ...

: 3rd

: 7th

Trofeo Palma de Mallorca The Challenge Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca ( en, Tour of Majorca, ca, Challenge Volta Ciclista a Mallorca) is a series of four (five until 2012) professional one day road bicycle races held on the Spanish island of Mallorca in late January or earl ...

: 9th

;2013 : 3rd Overall

::1st Stages 2 & 3 : 4th Road race, National Road Championships : 8th

Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec is a one-day professional bicycle road race held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Its first edition was on September 10, 2010, as the penultimate event in the 2010 UCI ProTour. The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec ...

: 9th

;2014 : 1st Jersey gold

Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stages 2 & 3 : 4th Road race,

: 5th Overall

Tour de l'Eurométropole Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed b ...

: 9th

;2015 : 6th

E3 Harelbeke E3 Saxo Bank Classic, previously known as E3 BinckBank Classic, E3 Harelbeke, Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke and E3-Prijs Vlaanderen, is an annual road cycling race in Flanders, Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke, covering 203 kil ...

: 7th

: 8th Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stages 3 & 4 : 10th Overall

Tour de Wallonie The Tour de Wallonie is a stage race cycling race on the UCI Europe Tour. It runs in Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium in the end of July. Between 1974 and 1995 it was reserved to amateurs. Since 2005, the race has been organized as a ...

;2016 : 5th

Grand Prix of Aargau Canton Grand Prix of Aargau Canton (german: Grosser Preis des Kantons Aargau) is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Aargau canton, one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. The race consists of fifteen laps around the Swiss town of G ...

: 6th

;2018 : 3rd

Japan Cup The is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters (about miles) run under weight for age conditions with ...

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Classics & Monuments results timeline

Major championships timeline

Footnotes

External links

Team Saxo Bank profile
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breschel, Matti 1984 births Living people People from Ballerup Danish male cyclists Danish Vuelta a España stage winners Tour de Suisse stage winners Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists of Denmark Sportspeople from the Capital Region of Denmark