Third place in Vuelta TTT sharpens resolve
Choosing to field five Dutch riders in a six man squad, the Rabobank team has laid out a clear target for Sunday’s first ever trade team world TTT championships. “We know that all these guys’ forms are good. The next few days will be all about getting the technical side down, to get the fellas all riding as one team,” said directeur sportif Nico Verhoeven. “By that, I mean getting used to the line-up in the paceline, getting acquainted with the course, and so on. I have the utmost confidence that top five is a realistic goal.”
The TTT will take place between Sittart and Valkenburg over a 53.2 kilometre course and, being in the Netherlands, is a home soil race for the Dutch squad. All the other world championship events are run off in national colours and teams, but this new event is unique in that the riders’ allegiances are to their usual 51-weeks-of-the-year squads. It means that bonds are theoretically tighter, and gives an additional importance to the sponsors themselves.
Rabobank was third in the Vuelta TTT and has selected three riders from that line-up: Lars Boom, Stef Clement, and Robert Gesink, who finished sixth overall there. Fellow Dutchmen Wilko Kelderman and Rick Flens have also been given the nod, as has the Classica San Sebastian winner Luis Leon Sanchez of Spain.
Verhoeven points to solid results in the Tour of Utah, the Eneco Tour and in the Vuelta a España as factors which have increased morale prior to Sunday’s big appointment. “It gives the team a boost when you get those kinds of results. Overall, we’ve been living with the championships for a while now. Everyone’s keen on a good result.”