Marco Brenner had hoped to be doing the 2023 Vuelta a España right now. Instead, he’s at home not racing. The 21-year-old German has been racing on the DSM outfit since 2021, but in an interview with Augsburger Allgemeine, he’s not sure what’s next for him.
“I’m disappointed.I was on the list for the Vuelta for a very long time and I was taken off just before the start. But I can somewhat understand it. The team has certain principles and everything has to make way for that. On the other hand, I don’t understand why no alternative program has been put together for me.”
No home tour for Brenner
Brenner didn’t even get to race in his home stage race, the Deutschland Tour.“As a German rider, I was not even allowed to participate in the Deutschland Tour, unlike two riders from the training team,” he said. “I am really disappointed about that.”
Promising 2022
In 2022, he placed fifth in a stage of the Vuelta, as well as the Tour de Pologne, where he finished 12th overall. In 2023, he finished sixth at the German national road championships, and is regarded as one of the top prospects from his country.
According to Brenner, the reason that there is friction between him and his team has to do with his saddle height.
Painful pedalling
Since the start of the 2023 season, Brenner has been increasingly affected by long-term effects resulting from an accident with a tractor in April 2020. At that time, Brenner was still riding for the junior squad, Auto Eder. Under the ever-increasing training load, poor posture now led to tension that affected the hips and legs.
He tried a wide variety of rehabilitation exercises but he still was in pain. In June, he changed his saddle height and had insoles made without consulting management. Things seemed to get better. According to Brenner, this approach, the team felt, was not properly discussed. According to the Augsburger Allgemeine interview, he believes by not communicating the changes it created some bad blood.
“My contract runs until 2024, now we just have to make sure that my management finds a good solution with the team leader. No matter what it will look like,” he said. “It’s all possible.”
After a good ride at the Tour of Denmark, he figured the Vuelta was a shoe-in. “It was a shame because I had a flat tire on the first day. If it hadn’t been for the puncture, I would have won the youth jersey,” he said. “My back also felt good. I came home on Saturday with really…
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