23-year-old Patrick Eddy scored the biggest victory of his still young career this past weekend in Perth at the Australian road championships. Eddy achieved this for the continental Team Brennan after learning at the end of last year that there was no longer a place for him at Picnic PostNL. It was clear that Eddy found it hard not to stay with the team.
"I haven't won anything since I became national junior champion," he said in the flash interview. "I've kind of lost myself as a rider over the past few years. This was a chance to race aggressively again, to enjoy racing again. For that, I want to thank the people at Team Brennan enormously. I think I've found myself a bit again," Eddy was candid.
Still, the Australian couldn’t hide his disappointment about leaving the Dutch team. "I even told Rudi Kemna that I would embarrass him when he showed me the door. This one is for you, buddy," Eddy concluded with a wink.
The Dutch sports director brought Eddy to Europe in 2022, where the rider was first placed for two years in the development squad of the then DSM-Firmenich, before being promoted to the pro team for two seasons. No major results came from that. But Eddy explained to us at the end of last year during the Tour of Langkawi why that was the case.
"In Langkawi, I was allowed to ride for myself, for the first time in those two years. My main task is usually to set up the lead-outs for our sprinters. I also think I do a better job at leading out the sprint than actually contesting one myself. Actually, I’m still discovering myself as a rider. I’m not a pure sprinter, and I want to show myself in the classics as well. I just need a bit more time."
But he didn’t get that. Still, Eddy was also grateful. “The step to Europe is never easy for Aussies. But this team provides an environment where young riders can really settle in. This was the number one team I wanted to join for the youth program because I had heard about their set-up in Sittard and you can see many young riders making good progress here. Ultimately, they made my transition to Europe a lot easier."
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