Two Tour de France success stories set their sights on the Tour of Spain
Following hugely successful Tours de France by two very different riders, it looks likely that both Mark Cavendish and Denis Menchov will be headed to the Vuelta a Espana’s start on August 28th in Sevilla.
Denis Menchov’s 3rd place finish in Paris was the Rabobank team’s first ever appearance on final overall podium in Paris. Former Tour de France contender and now director on the Rabobank team, Erik Breukink, spoke to Rabo Sport following the team’s best ever trip around France, which it also included 6th place overall for young Dutchman, Robert Gesink.
“We must first see how he recovers from the Tour, because it was an extremely difficult Tour. The morale will be good though. At the beginning of the year, we agreed with Menchov that he should almost certainly race two Grand Tours. He did not race the Giro this year. We kept him out of it in 2010, because when he won in 2009, he wasn’t very good at the Tour. It was a smart move. The Vuelta is now a good option, because the primary objective has been achieved at the Tour de France. There’s not much to lose.”
The Vuelta could be the Russian’s final race with the Orangemen of Rabobank. There was already much interest from other teams in the three-time Grand Tour winner before he finished on the podium today in Paris – the sweepstakes should only get bigger now. Astana, Katusha, and Vacansoleil have all been linked to the 2009 Giro winner, but Menchov will first have the option to discuss a new contract with his Rabobank team.
The presence of the former two-time winner of the Vuelta will be good for the race, but even better for the race could be the decision of Mark Cavendish to participate (and most likely win a number of stages) in the Tour of Spain.
Speaking about his plans for the future following his eleventh stage win in two years at the Tour de France, Cavendish was blunt: “I’m not going to do anything. I’m taking a week off. Then, I’ll do the Vuelta before the World Championships. It’s as simple as that.”
For HTC-Columbia, the much hyped showdown looks to be on the horizon. Mark Cavendish has promised never to participate in the same race as teammate, Andre Greipel, but Greipel is the defending points jersey winner at the Vuelta and also preparing for the World Championships on October 3rd. Will HTC-Columbia allow the two to race together at the Vuelta, or will they will continue the tried and true method of keeping them separate at all costs – namely Andre Greipel’s prospects to race in the sport’s biggest events.
The successful German sprinter seems to have no recourse but to leave HTC-Columbia for 2011. The writing was already on the wall for July, but if the Vuelta turns out to be a wash as well – consider it a done deal.