Sun 26 May 2013 | 
Matthew Keenan
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Enlarge textTeam Rabobank needs to switch to Plan B in order to fight it's way back, writes Matthew Keenan.
Rabobank's Oscar Freire (Getty)
- 6 Comments | Join the discussion
On the back of his victory at the Giro d’Italia, the Rabobank squad
arrived in Monaco with high hopes for Denis Menchov to wear the yellow
jersey in Paris but so far nothing has gone according to plan.
Menchov
disappointed in the opening time trial. Then in the team time trial he
crashed on the first corner, which set the tone for the rest of the
stage for the Dutch team.
The entire team, with the exception
of Oscar Freire, has been built around the Russian. With his chances of
winning the Tour all but gone Rabobank should reshuffle the deck chairs
to give their Spanish sprinters some support.
Yes Menchov may
well still be able to claw his way back into the top five on general
classification but Freire is a proven performer worthy of some support.
Plus, from a completely selfish perspective, wouldn’t it be
nice to see him have at least a fighting chance against the seemly
unstoppable Mark Cavendish.
Freire wouldn’t need much - just
two guys to protect him in the final five kilometres to reduce the
amount of fighting for wheels he is currently required to do.
They
should also give the young Dutchman, Robert Gesink, his freedom in the
mountains to go in search of a stage win. After all it is a Dutch team
with a Dutch sponsor and such a move is sure to win plenty of support
on home soil.
For Menchov the fatigue and emotional release
after winning the Giro has obviously been significant so taking a bit
of the pressure off his shoulders may even improve his performance.
There’s still a long way to go and Rabobank is bound to have an impact on the Tour somewhere along the line.
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Comments (6)
bikes
Matthew tell cadel I am willing to help him up the mountain with my mazda 323
09 Jul 2009 18:46 AEST
From: perth
the tour has just begun
look, if the tour was over as so many like to assume based on the standings then i suggest you don't know much about the tour... once a rider gets on his bike for the day he knows it's another race where things happen.. as for armstrong .. he'll be dropped like a sack of potatoes at the busy end of the race and whoever has the duty of looking after him will also be out of contention too. may the gutsiset man win...
09 Jul 2009 9:00 AEST
From: Melbourne
Coalition of the willing?
Look, I'm sure the riders (and the DSs) from Silence-Lotto, Rabobank and Cervelo are thinking very hard about how they can work together to break the Astana express, but unless *all* the Astana riders have a bad day in the mountains there's not that much they can do. If the Astana riders are all in good climbing form, there's nothing that Evans et al can do, individually or as a group. All the Astana riders need to do -assuming they can all stay with the lead group up the big climbs - is take it in turns to chase down attacks. So if Sastre goes, Contador chases it down. Evans goes, Armstrong chases. The Schlecks attack, Kloden chases and brings him back....and on and on it goes However, we don't yet know who really is climbing well. This thing ain't over, as ill-judged by the organizers as that ridiculous TTT course was.
09 Jul 2009 8:38 AEST
From: franklin
coalition of the willing
Hey George I like the concept! Bring on 'Mountain Storm'. SaxoBank is playing a very cunning waiting game I feel, and this TdF has clearlyreinforced once and for all my belief that Armstrong is a Leader and Organiser without peer , an iron will who relishes the destruction of other teams and rivals. Wow, what a rider! If he goes down the path of forming his own team, moulded on his principles, lookout cycling as it will change some of the tactics of racing forever.
09 Jul 2009 7:40 AEST
From: Geelong
Teams event
Why did they re-introduce the teams sprint.? If you are a good rider in a slow team then you havn't got a chance. Should Cadel look at changing teams ? Is that east to do ? Im new to all of his
08 Jul 2009 22:56 AEST
From: Central Coast
Coalition of the Willing
It will be interesting to see how the GC riders in teams like Rabobank, Silence Lotto, etc, who have been put out by the TTT, change tactics. Perhaps they should form a Coalition of the Willing to take on the Astana/SaxoBank Axis of Evil.
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About this Blog
Matthew is a regular SBS commentator at the Tour de France. Prior to heading into the commentary box Matthew spent two seasons racing in Europe and rides as often as possible to remind his legs of that feeling of grovelling up a climb.
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09 Jul 2009 21:31 AEST
paul worksafe
From: coburg