Former Danish champion Matti Breschel will unfortunately not participate in Sunday's Danish national road race championship after the Tinkoff-Saxo rider was hit by a car on Friday while training. Medical examinations revealed that Breschel has sustained several bruises and hemorrhages, mainly to his legs, and possibly damaged ligaments in his knee after the frontal accident.
 
After being discharged from the hospital in Denmark, where examinations didn't reveal any fractures, Breschel remained somewhat hopeful that he would be able to recover sufficiently ahead of Sunday's championship, where he was expected to play a key role. However, after reevaluating the extent of his injuries on Saturday, Breschel and Lars Michaelsen, sports director at Tinkoff-Saxo, decided to pull the former champion from the race.
 
"I'm really sad not to take part in the national championship. It's a real pity to lose momentum and the opportunity to take part in this race, where we ride to keep the champion's jersey in the team. I'm disappointed and a bit angry that some people don't pay attention while driving but I have to look ahead, recover and focus on the fact that nobody was severely harmed", says Matti Breschel, who adds about the accident:
 
"I was out scooter-training on secluded roads on Sjælland in Denmark behind my father on the scooter, when an oncoming car cut a corner and drove right into us. The driver had ten seconds to notice us but that obviously didn't happen. I slammed directly into the scooter but it was a bit worse for my father, who broke his collarbone. In any case, I hope my teammates can secure a great result and fly the colors of Tinkoff-Saxo on the highest step of the Danish podium. I look forward to resuming racing again as soon as possible." 
 
Tinkoff-Saxo starts the Danish national championship with Michael Valgren, Michael Mørkøv, Chris Juul-Jensen and Chris Anker Sørensen.