"I don't understand why no alternative program has been put together for me" - Marco Brenner and Team DSM-Firmenich at odds after Vuelta snub

21-year-old German starlet, Marco Brenner was expected to be making just a second Grand Tour appearance at the Vuelta a Espana. Sadly for the German however, that was not the case, leaving his career at a crossroads.

"I'm disappointed," the promising, young, Team DSM-Firmenich rider admits in conversation with Augsburger Allgemeine. "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."

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So where do Brenner and Team DSM-Firmenich go from here? That still seems yet to be decided. "As a German rider, I was not even allowed to participate in the Deutschland Tour, unlike two riders from the training team. I am really disappointed about that," he laments. "My contract runs until the end of 2024. We now have to ensure that my management can find a good solution with the team management."

Although he is yet to taste victory in his professional career, Brenner is viewed as a big hope for German cycling and has shown a potentially high ceiling, including a recent top 10 general classification finish at the Tour of Norway earlier this year.

The reason for the discontent between rider and team? Brenner adjusted his saddle position due to an injury without consulting the team beforehand. “When it's really bad, I can't push that hard," he explains. This lack of communication proving costly.

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