Dutchman shows improved time trial skills; Teammate Tanking voted most elegant rider
Robert Gesink finished the Vuelta al País Vasco in third place, after delivering a very good time trial on the final day. The race against the clock has been his weak point, but Gesink worked hard on it to increase his chances for wins in stage races. His seventh place, 50 seconds behind stage winner Tony Martin (HTC Highroad), put Gesink equal on time with second-placed Chris Horner in the overall. Horner’s RadioShack teammate Andreas Klöden took the overall title, 47 seconds ahead of Horner and Gesink.
The team’s mood was put back in place by Gesink’s performance, after the letdown on Friday when Oscar Freire was stripped off his sprint win. The news about Gesink’s time trial form was equally well received by the team. “The nice thing is that Robert managed to do it again in a time trial,” sports director Adri van Houwelingen said on rabosports.nl. This was different last season when he couldn’t perform as he wanted in the individual discipline. “There is no more questions about this in the 2011 season. Just the opposite,” Van Houwelingen added.
Heading into the final day in eighth place, six seconds adrift the top spot, Gesink obtained another top ten finish in a time trial. He has already won the time trial in the Tour of Oman, on his way to overall victory. Even more importantly, he was ninth in the Tirreno-Adriatico time trial, ahead of riders like Gustav Erik Larsson or Cadel Evans. Evans went on to win Tirreno with 11 seconds over Gesink.
The third place in the País Vasco overall was a sweet reward for Rabobank. “The podium is really above our expectations. Given the strong riders on the startlist and the route profile, where Robert had some problems with the explosive climbs, this is very good knowledge for us and a sign that he is alright.”
Gesink feels he is on the right track. “At the finish he said something about ‘that could have been better,'” Houwelingen remarked. “This is good to know for the future. He obviously sees some room for improvement in the time trial.”
His problems on the Basque climbs cause no concern for Rabobank. “It is a question of the form and it is coming along well. Robert has a good week behind him. There was no pressure for him in this race. Today [Saturday for the time trial -ed] we also left it open for him. We banked on a top ten [in the overall], and it became a podium through a really good time trial. This race gives us and Robert a lot of stability.”
The Rabobank performance was rounded out by Bram Tanking, who won the blue jersey in the metas volantes (intermediate sprints) competition. Tanking collected 13 points and was four points ahead of Maxim Belkov, Amaël Moinard and Michael Albasini. He also won a prize that he had no clue where it was coming from. Walking back to the Rabobank bus, he showed the trophy to the team’s staff. “Look, I won the prize of most elegant rider,” he said, laughing heartily. He looked down on his Rabobank kit. “That’s really nice!”