Tinkoff-Saxo targets stage wins and the overall victory at Post Denmark Rundt, as the squad lines up for the 25th anniversary edition against a strong field of competitors. Last-minute replacement and defending champion Michael Valgren joins the team in support of team leader Chris Juul-Jensen.
 
“We enter the race as defending champions and it’s of course not a secret that we’re here to fight for the overall victory – whether we succeed is definitely not granted”, assesses Tinkoff-Saxo sports director Lars Michaelsen, who will direct the squad during the five days of racing in Denmark.
 
“Our main goal is to win the race with Chris Juul-Jensen and then we’ll be looking for stage wins with fast guys like Mørkøv and Breschel. It’s a strong field this year and the competition will be hard but I think that Chris Juul’s season has been pointing him in this direction. He has played the part as supporting rider many times during the year and we’ve witnessed how committed he has been to this role. I only think it’s natural that he gets the opportunity to lead the GC ambitions, also taking into account his current shape”, comments Lars Michaelsen.
 
Tinkoff-Saxo lines up Christopher Juul-Jensen, Matti Breschel, Michael Mørkøv, Jay McCarthy, Michael Kolar, Juraj Sagan, stagiaire Michael Gogl and defending champion Michael Valgren, who has rebounded from the illness that forced him to withdraw from the Tour just before Paris.
 
“Michael Valgren replaces Oliver Zaugg. So far, his role is to provide strong support and to assist Chris but we will see day by day and reevaluate his condition after the first stages. Despite the fact that he won last year, we have to remember that it’s not many days since he had to withdraw from the Tour due to illness. We will see, where he is, and if he’s going well, he will naturally provide a great engine, which is important here in Denmark”, says Michaelsen before adding:
 
“Tour of Denmark will most likely be decided on the time trial in Helsingør, but stage 3 in Vejle will also play a crucial role, as we often see an elimination race among the favorites here. Chris Juul has to stay at the front and finish among the first on this stage, and then he must ride a fast time trial. At the same time, stage 3 that finishes on Kiddesvej is an obvious chance for Breschel to fight for the stage win, while Mørkøv will head our sprints on the flatter stages”.
 
Team GC captain Chris Juul-Jensen takes on the challenge of fighting for the overall classification with bolstered confidence after positive sensations from the last days of racing in Tour de Wallonie and San Sebastián.
 
“We want to win the race but it’s not as simple as that. There are other teams that are just as strong with favorites like Bak and Fuglsang but we enter the race after a good build-up. I think that I’ve had a great period, I trained hard in Lucca, we rode very actively in Wallonie, which is similar to this race, and I surprised myself on the climbs in Clásica San Sebastián against some big names”, says Chris Juul-Jensen, who elaborates:
 
“I’m confident about my current shape and I believe that I can allow myself to target the overall win, especially after working on my time trial – something that culminated with the national championship in June. I’m proud to lead a team with riders like Breschel, who has won seven stages in the race so far. He matched Philippe Gilbert in Wallonie and is looking sharp at the moment. We all know what he can do on a climb like Kiddesvej. We have a strong team, Valgren is a nice addition but we know that several other teams are strong and hungry as well. On top of that, we know that the smaller teams will look to us to take control. The smaller Danish teams are seriously competitive and there is a big pool of talent ready to take up the fight”, finishes Chris Juul-Jensen.