De Deen Mikkel Frølich Honoré was de eindwinnaar van de Sint Martinusprijs. De eerstejaars junior zijn volgende doelen zijn Liege la Gleize en de jeugd Olympische spelen in China.
1. You arrived in Belgium to race, for the first time at the Sint Martinusprijs. How were the first races? Are there many differences between Belgium and Denmark? Racing in Belgium is amazing. It is awesome to see how dedicated people in Belgium are to the sport. It’s great to see the passion for cycling among the audience and race crew, it makes you feel welcomed no matter of your nationality. The competition in Belgium is always hard and it is a pleasure to race here because of the spirit among the local people. In Denmark are the races not as well organized as in Belgium for instance are the race circuits only half closed because there is not the same support from the audience and the local community, due to lack of passion for the cycling sport. But in the past 10 years interest for cycling in Denmark has grown enormously and we see many upcoming Danish talents.
2. Did you suspect as first year junior such a result? I always believe that I can win when I compete, but I did not expect to win the GC as a first year. I had great expectations for the race because I knew that I was in a great shape and that we have one of the best teams in the world.
3. When did you start with this sport? I started in 2004 in the youngest category, I actually got dispensation to start one year earlier in U11. It was my grandfather and brother who opened my eyes to cycling and since then, my father has been with me on the bike and on the finish line supporting me in every race.
4. How has the season been going until now? My shape has been very great but the results have not been matching. The season started out great with a 2nd and 1st place for me in Germany. That resulted for a selection to the Paris-Roubaix where my shape felt perfect but I was very unlucky with a crash and to punctures on the notorious cobbles. So the GC victory in Sint Martinusprijs was a relief and breakthrough for me in junior. But not to forget the season as a team has been very successful. For instance we just won the Danish national championships in TTT followed by the road race win with Jonas Gregaard.
5. What is your speciality? A hard race with a lot of cross wind with some hills is what I like the most, but I do not think I have a definite speciality yet. The future will show what my speciality is. I like races as the Ardennes Classics and the Paris-Roubaix.
6. You are also select for the youth Olympic Games in China. What is your goal there? I am very excited for the whole event and I think it is going to be different from racing in Europe. I do not really know what to expect for the level out there. What I do know is that there always will be a lot of prestige and pride to participate in the Olympics for your home country. I have high expectations for myself in Nanjing, and to have a medal packed in my luggage on my way home would be a dream coming true.
7. When do we see you back in Belgium? Goal there? I hopefully come back to Belgium soon because I love the atmosphere around cycling here. I hope that I will be able to participate in the Liege la Gleize where the team and me of course hope to do as well as in Sint Martinusprijs, but the future will show if I am able to participate due to the tight schedule.
8. Do you want to stay longer in Belgium for racing? It would be amazing to have a home base here in Belgium because it is the capital of cycling. I also feel really welcomed here in Belgium. The sport culture is here and I think every cyclist will agree with me. Maybe my excitement for Belgium has something to do with my last name Honoré and family roots from the city Mons back in the 1600 century.