Dutchman poised to strike in mountains, must remain vigilant in days ahead
With many pinpointing Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck as the big pre-Tour favourites, other riders have flown a little under the radar. Robert Gesink (Rabobank) is one of those, but must be considered a strong contender for the podium. A strong climber, Gesink has shown improvements in the time trial this year and is very well positioned after two days of racing.
“A very good start,” he said of the start of his Tour de France. “You need a bit of good luck, and we had that this time. But we have to stay alert. We saw what can happen suddenly on Saturday.”
Gesink was referring to the crashes which delayed Contador and meant that he was already on the back foot heading into yesterday’s team time trial. The Spaniard lost further time when his Saxo Bank SunGard team were eighth there, and is now back in 75th place, one minute 42 seconds down. In contrast Gesink’s Rabobank team dropped just 12 seconds in the time trial, netting seventh. He’s the same margin off yellow, sitting 25th overall.
“Everyone rode well. As a team, we were super,” he said. “Maarten Tjallingii was very strong at the start. Lars Boom at the end, that was truly impressive. A few of the guys rode to the limits of their energy in the final kilometres. I also found myself to be good. This is a good feeling during the time trial and at the end I was able to take a few good turns. This also generates great confidence for the remainder of the Tour. We rode and performed to the max; we can be very satisfied with these time differences.”
The team rode well throughout the test, but really gained momentum near the finish. Had it been longer, Rabobank might have been further up the standings; even so, the experience was a very motivating one for Gesink. “The final part was the most difficult, with an incline. Certainly not mountains, so on your time bike, you reach them travelling very fast,” he said.
“In the final part we really rode like a train. It was incredibly fast. We were faster there than Garmin was, and they have won the time trial. We managed to get ahead of Saxobank there, riding an absolutely brilliant time trial as a team.”
If Gesink can head into the mountains in the same position as he currently is overall, it will be hugely promising for his chances. Once the roads tilt upwards, he knows that he should make up time on many of those in front of him. In addition, with Contador needing to make up time, he needs just stay close to the Spaniard to get carried higher again. If he’s got the legs, the opportunity would be perfect.
Today’s stage is almost certain to end in a big sprint. His aim will be to stay out of trouble, realising that the easiest way for him to lose time is to get tangled up in a crash or caught out with bunch splits. He admits that these scenarios are on his mind, and promises to be vigilant.
“Of course we are happy with the [time] differences. But I’m going to take it one day at a time. We mustn’t lose our heads and go too fast. We all saw what can happen on Saturday, [with] many falls. It was incredibly dicey. Anything can happen anywhere.
“We have to stay careful and alert. In the coming week we’re going to ride through a region known for having strong wind, so there could still be a few more treacherous races in the pipeline. We’re not there yet – not by a long shot.”
Gesink won the Tour of Oman earlier this year and, crucially, also won the final time trial. He was sixth in last year’s Tour, and finished in the same position in the 2009 Vuelta a España. In fact, he might have won the latter had he not suffered a bad crash while sitting second overall. He’s now 25 years of age and set to move his career a step higher this year.