It was a happy Matti Breschel that returned to racing at the Volta ao Algarve on Wednesday. The Danish rider's comeback was short lived though. The 26 year old Classics specialist dropped out of the Tour of the Algarve only six kilometers into Friday's third stage, which finished atop the Alto do Malhao.
Rabobank's frustrated cobbled captain spoke to politiken.dk following his early departure from the first race of his return to cycling following the Giro di Lombardia in October.
"It's the same old song. I got a sore knee on today's stage, so there was nothing else to do but drop out."
It was only a day ago that the World Championship runner-up noted his satisfaction in rejoining the fray.
"It was nice to get going again. It is just like before. I've missed that iron taste you get in your mouth at the start of the race, because you feel like you are coughing up blood."
It wouldn't be long before those longed for painful feelings were replaced by the kind of pain that one fears rather than relishes. Now, Breschel heads back to the drawing board by way of the doctor's office.
"I do not know how bad it is yet. We will look at it with the doctor and investigate the pain."
Even before today's disastrous six kilometers, there were rumblings of problems according to Rabobank sport director Adri van Houwelingen. Unfortunately for Rabobank and Breschel, the knee pains are different than before, which could possibly mean an entirely new problem to be dealt with.
"Matti already had some small complaints after yesterday's stage," said van Houwelingen to feltet.dk. "He chose to start [Friday's] stage though, but after just six kilometers, it was going so badly, that he had to leave the race. We had hoped that he could finish the race without pain, but it couldn't be done. According to Breschel, the pain in the knee is not the same, so now it must be examined, and then we can look and see what the consequences will be afterwards."
The 2009 Danish National Road Champion and a rider certainly viewed as a major possibility in his home country's World Championships at the end of the season can only hope for the best and express his sincere irritation with his recalcitrant joint.
"It's too early and difficult to predict anything right now, but it hurts, and it's damn annoying."
Breschel rightly refuses to look too far ahead at the moment, preferring only to get to the doctor as soon as possible and do everything he can to right his ship in hopes of somehow, some way, getting fit ahead of the Spring Classics…if his knee will allow it.