Team manager, Erik Breukink, admits disappointment in Belgian Classics specialist
Belgian Nick Nuyens’s stay with Rabobank looks set to end two years after it started. Nuyens moved over to Rabobank from Cofidis with a lot of hope and promise, but two seasons on, and little has come from the 30-year-old.
Rabobank could be forgiven for putting a lot of expectations on the shoulders of the native of Lier and 2002 U23 Ronde van Vlaanderen winner. In the seasons leading up to his signing with Rabobank, Nuyens won the Omloop Het Volk, GP de Wallonie, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, the Tour of Britain, Etoile Besseges, and took stages at the Eneco Tour and the Tour de Suisse. The wins alone were solid indicators, but Nuyens also managed two consecutive solid results at the Ronde van Vlaanderen in 2007 and 2008: 7th and 2nd.
In his two seasons with Rabobank, however, Nuyens has little to show for his time with the Dutch team. He has two wins: the GP de Wallonie in 2009 and Stage 5 of the Tour of Austria just a couple of weeks ago. His best finish in the Spring Classics this year was an anonymous 8th place at the Amstel Gold Race.
Rabobank team manager, Erik Breukink, admits that Nuyens’s run could be coming to an end: “We don’t think that Nick has performed as expected as a Spring Classics leader, and that’s something he he will realize himself…We will look at things after the Tour, but as it stands now, there is no contract proposal ready.”
Breukink isn’t writing the enigmatic rider off entirely though. He leaves the door open for continuation with the team if Nuyens could manage a solid fall campaign.
“He has won only one stage so far this year at the Tour of Austria, and we were very happy. He also could do a strong Autumn.”
The case of Nick Nuyens is good indication that Rabobank will be looking to make some changes to their Classics squad coming into 2011. The team has long promised big results and showed great possibilities, but has never quite lived up to the expectations.