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Søjberg chases new Danish championship surprise without sick teammate
🇩🇰 Denmark /Sports

Søjberg chases new Danish championship surprise without sick teammate

From Berlingske · () Danish

Translated from Danish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Context piece
  • Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen aims to repeat his 2024 victory at the Danish National Championship road race.
  • He will compete without teammate Tobias Lund Andresen, who withdrew due to illness.
  • Søjberg expects a challenging race, potentially influenced by heat and rain, and is looking forward to competing despite the circumstances.

Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen is aiming for a repeat of his surprise 2024 victory at the Danish National Championship road race, held this year in Herning. The 21-year-old rider, now with Decathlon, faces the challenge of defending his title without his teammate Tobias Lund Andresen, who had to withdraw due to illness.

It was supposed to be the two of us. Tobias was also supposed to be here, but he has canceled due to some illness he needs to recover from.

— Rasmus Søjberg PedersenExplaining the absence of his teammate Tobias Lund Andresen from the championship race.

"It was supposed to be the two of us. Tobias was also supposed to be here, but he has canceled due to some illness he needs to recover from," Søjberg explained. The absence of Andresen means Søjberg will have to tackle the nearly 220-kilometer course largely on his own, facing strong competition from established riders like Mads Pedersen, Kasper Asgreen, and Magnus Cort.

Søjberg anticipates a demanding race, potentially exacerbated by the current heatwave affecting Denmark. He hopes for a tough competition, stating, "It's going to be hot and maybe a bit wet. It generally just needs to be a hard bike race because that usually suits me very well." He recalled his 2024 win, where he managed to break away with a small group and ultimately outsprint Kasper Asgreen.

It's going to be hot and maybe a bit wet. It generally just needs to be a hard bike race because that usually suits me very well.

— Rasmus Søjberg PedersenDescribing his expectations for the race conditions and his preferred racing style.

Reflecting on his recent career developments, Søjberg noted his 11th-place finish in the individual time trial on Friday and expressed pride in his participation in the Giro d'Italia. Although his teammate Tobias Lund Andresen did not secure an individual stage win, Søjberg was proud to have supported Felix Gall's overall second-place finish in the Grand Tour, calling it a "pretty unique" experience for a rider's debut Grand Tour.

It's pretty unique. Not many get to have a teammate on the podium in a grand tour during their career. I already experienced that in my first grand tour, and I can only be proud of that.

— Rasmus Søjberg PedersenExpressing pride in supporting Felix Gall's second-place finish at the Giro d'Italia.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Berlingske in Danish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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