Matt Brammeier still in limbo as his wait for a new professional contract continues

The New Year has begun, the first races of the season will get underway shortly, but Matt Brammeier is still awaiting confirmation that he will have a professional contract for 2015.

The five-time Irish national champion has been waiting several months to get the final green light from a large team which is currently still chasing additional sponsorship.

The squad has big ambitions for 2015 and wants to expand its line-up, but needs to secure additional backing in order to do that.

“I am still waiting for it to be finalised,” said Brammeier, who preferred not to go on record about the team’s identity at this point in time. “I am hoping that everything is going to plan and that it will be sorted out soon.”

While he admits that the uncertainty is difficult to take, Brammeier has said that he has been able to get in some good training in advance of the 2015 season.

"Everything is going well," he said. "I am feeling quite good. I have just done a bit of intensity block over in Belgium. I am working with [former Italian professional] Marco Pinotti and I have changed my training compared to the past. He has a few new ideas and we have been trying them out."

“I have had some good numbers in relation to stuff I have been lacking in the past few years,” he explained. “Hopefully I will be off to Mallorca for a training camp with the team, then get racing after that.”

Providing things go to plan and he inks the deal, he said that he is likely to begin his season at the Tour of Qatar.

Now 29 years of age, Brammeier has raced in some of the biggest teams in the sport in the past. He competed with HTC Highroad and Omega Pharma-QuickStep in 2011 and 2012 respectively, and wants to get back to riding the top events.

He proved his class when he beat top Irish pros such as Nicolas Roche, Dan Martin and Philip Deignan to take his Irish road race titles. Roche and Deignan will be part of Team Sky, Martin will be one of the leaders of Cannondale-Garmin. Sam Bennett is staying with Bora-Argon 18.