Chasing 1%: Frederik Muff’s one-year bid for Danish ITT glory

The 31-year-old had been racing for Danish Continental teams for five years, first at BHS-PL Beton Bornholm in 2020, then with Team ColoQuick from 2021 to 2024, but as last year’s season wound down, he opted not to re-sign with the team and instead pursuit another goal: he would focus completely on the Danish ITT championships and dedicate his 2025 season to trying to win ‘dannebrogstrøjen’, the coveted red jersey with the white cross that signifies the Danish champion.

“The idea began to take shape in 2023. In 2022 I was 35 seconds from the title, and in 2023 it was similar [55 seconds]. So already in late 2023 I had the thought that I couldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t try to go all-in on it once,” Muff explained the thoughts behind to Domestique after the race.

2024 brought several big changes to the life of Muff and his partner Camilla. In January, Camilla gave birth to a son, Oscar (who, now almost 1.5 years old, was playing in the parking lot that functioned as the team paddock on Friday). In November, though, Camilla was diagnosed with cancer.

Under the circumstances, Muff, who is working as a journalist and media consultant, was ready to drop his ITT plans, but as he recounts in a YouTube series about his journey (available on YouTube, though only in Danish), his partner encouraged him to keep going so that their life wouldn’t only revolve around her illness.

Muff wanted to get the absolute best in every aspect: frame, components, handlebars, helmet, shoes, every little detail was scrutinised, and he explained that he would not accept every sponsorship that he may have been offered. He would only make the deal if he was convinced their product would not hold him back. Instead, he would rather try to find money from other, non-cycling sponsors and buy whichever components he deemed best.

In the end, it was a combination of sponsors from within and outside of the cycling world that came together to support the project: a frame from Scott, the drivetrain from Ceramicspeed, a Drag2Zero aero cockpit, Fusion cycling kit, Noutron sports nutrition, Neat Components 3D-printed parts, as well as valuable support from Johs. Sørensen & Sønner, a waste sorting company from Aarhus, and Refuel, a business consulting company.

Last but not least, his skinsuit sported the dark blue, red, black, and azure stripes of Aarhus Cyklebane, an open-air velodrome, the third iteration of which was built in 1940, but that has existed since 1893 and that is dear to many local riders including Muff himself. The concrete track is scheduled for demolition in late 2025, with plans for a replacement indoor velodrome not yet confirmed.

Add to that several wind tunnel sessions to find the best possible position on the bike, the most aerodynamical helmet, and a special order of custom-made carbon shoes, and no stone was left unturned in the search for seconds.

At the ITT championships, Muff had one of the largest set-ups. “There are three teams with busses, Lidl-Trek, Uno-X Mobility, and me,” he laughed. It was a camper and delivery van, not a full-size team bus, but the point stands: about 15 people milled about said camper and delivery van, all in support of one single rider.

“Some of them are family members, but it is a big team. Scott have gone wholeheartedly in on this, they sent two people, then there’s a videographer, two sport directors and so on. It’s fantastic that so many people want to support a ‘happy amateur’ [a specifically Danish term that should nevertheless be self-explanatory], that’s cool. And I think we’re all happy with the result even though it would have been fun to mix it with the top-5 or top-3. We had hopes for it, but we all learnt something along the way,” said Muff.

And this brings us to the crux of the matter: Muff won ITT bronze in 2020 (albeit almost two minutes down on the winner Kasper Asgreen) and was only 35 seconds behind Mathias Norsgaard in 2022. Mustn’t this 12th place be disappointing after all the effort he put in?“

I can’t be anything else than happy. I have done everything I could. If I had had a perfect day physically, maybe I could have pushed 10 or 15 Watts more. It’s crazy how close it was, if I had had that little bit more power, there were so few seconds that separate people that it comes out to a lot of placings. You can always ask ‘what if’, but I did everything I could on the day. It would have been great to have a miracle day, but I did everything I could,” Muff was content with his result and reiterated that when asked a follow-up question.

“I’m definitely happy with the process, with the preparation and the setup we have. There was nothing we could have done better. It would have been great to have a body that was more cooperative, but I did all I could to prepare, and there was nothing more to do,” he said.

This perspective has been a common thread throughout. Muff had made it clear from the start that the project’s success would not hinge on winning the champion’s jersey – in an Instagram post ahead of the ITT championships, he had estimated his chances of actually pulling off the (almost) impossible to be 1%.“

The conclusion from today is that it didn’t raise my level more. In a way, that gives me a sense of calm. It’s very validating, so you don’t spend the rest of your life thinking ‘what if’. And that’s been the whole point with this project: It’s better to put everything into this one goal and see what the result is, if it made a difference, and now I have the answer,” Muff said.

In a way, the journey was its own reward. There was another reward as Camilla was declared cancer-free earlier in June. And the journey isn’t quite over yet: “I’ve planned an attempt at the Danish ITT record over 50 and 100 kilometres for August. So I’ve always had a safety line in case I didn’t become Danish champion,” joked Muff.“

I have put so much work into this; it would be a waste to just stop now. I will still finish the season, and I have plans to find some time trials to play with, maybe go to Great Britain where they have a big TT scene. The course where the British record for 40 km ITT has been beaten several times has just been reopened after roadworks, that could be a fun idea,” he promised to continue to fight against the clock. Contre-la-montre.