Even though a hectic ultimate day of rivary at the Six Day events is usually not the best time to have a longer conversation with main title contenders, it came as no surprise that Michael Mørkøv agreed to talk with CyclingQuotes on Tuesday afternoon, right before the grande finale of this year's Copenhagen Six kicked off. An overwhelming impression that stronger than ever pair no. 7 simply couldn't lose the race certainly helped our case, but only just as much as a self-composure of the 29-year old Dane, praboble the most distinctive part of his personality.

The pair no. 7 mastermind..

Being a mastermind behind a success of the Danish pair no. 7 in its present composition, carring a responsibility of making most important tactical decisions as well as managing his slightly unpredictable and quick-tempered partner, Mørkøv entered the velodrome very early on Tuesday afternoon. Letting him to have his usual chat with a mechanic, I caught the Tinkoff-Saxo rider shortly afterwards and was led to his box to talk about transformation his team underwent in recent seasons and ambitions for 2015.

Even though it wasn't a topic of our interview, I couldn't help asking Michael about his tactics for the final night at Copenhagen Six. Calmly answering my question, the 29-year old Dane just confirment how certain he felt about claiming his fifth [fourth pairing up with Rasmussen] title in a home event.

„Of course we want to defend our position in front of the race and if that requires attacking, that will be fine. We have actually won that 7 points [needed to gain another bonus lap] as we have the second time in the time trial so we will defend those points tonight,” explained Mørkøv. Being arguably the strongest team in the race, though, the Danish favourites not only controlled all happenings on the final night, but once again went on full offensive in the last Madison to cheer a local crowd.

„Oleg adds a lot of exciting stuff”

Originating from Denmark, riding in the Tinkoff-Saxo [earlier Saxo Bank] outfit since turning pro in 2009 and making an impression of being an incredibly thoughtful young man, Mørkøv seemed to be a perfect person to share some insight on a transformation his team underwent in past seasons. Even though his squad stopped to be a safe haven for Danish professionals, some time ago always welcome to hide themselves under protecting wings of Bjarne Riis, the 29-year old track and classics specialist was pleased with heading into more international direction.

„I don't feel that much of a difference in a team. Of course we have a new owner of a team – earlier it was Bjarne Riis and now it's Oleg Tinkov – but Oleg managed to keep a lot of good values that the team had had before and just adds a lot of new and exciting stuff on top of that, including incredibly good training program,” Mørkøv revealed CyclingQuotes.

„I can also feel and see that he invests a lot of money in developing different kind of materials, equipment, improvements for the future. For me it's super exciting to be a part of such a great team.”

„Finally we have a captain who is capable of winning”

Discussing Mørkøv with Danish cycling journalists and experts, one could always hear that despite originating from a track, the Tinkoff-Saxo rider would prefer to focus entirely on road racing and eventually prove himself as a captain for Flemish classics. Quite in contrary to this general opinion, the 29-year old rider revealed that he is no less than excited to finally have a strong captain for cobbled races in Sagan, and even though he remains eager to grab his own opportinities, he would be just as pleased to support the Slovakien superstar.

„I am very excited about having him in the team. I haven't met him before but now I'm very impressed about what kind of person Peter is. We've been on few training camps together and he is a very friendly and down to earth person. He immediately gains your respect because he is a nice and honest guy and for me it's very important to have a such a captain – who is actually able to win races. I believe that we will have a very strong team and I also believe that we have good perspectives on winning some of the biggest classics this year.”

„I will be expected to support Peter in a big races, but of course I will still have good chances in smaller races, when I'm in a good shape. That's how it is to be a professional bike rider – sometimes you need to play a role of a supporting rider, a lot of times you will have a chance to make your own move,” Danish rider explained.

In the second part of our interview, Michael Mørkøv will reveal his race schedule for first part of 2015 season, hint races in which he aims to take over the leadership role and reflect on combining Six Days with racing on the road – coming to a rather unexpected conclusion.