Reflecting on the end of a nine-year working relationship with the Rabobank team, triple world champion Oscar Freire has made it clear that he feels that the team did not act correctly in its dealings with him.
The Spaniard negotiated with the Dutch team about extending with it but, having at one point indicated that he was likely to retire, was later told that there was no place for him going forward and that a new contract would not be drawn up.
“Everything played out with a coldness that I did not expect, not in my worst moments,” he told El Pais. “They could have told me earlier this year that did not want me, because I refused big offers from GreenEdge and others as it was assured that I would continue in Rabobank. To finish like this is very sad, but it is they who are wrong.”
Freire has taken many big wins for the team since joining in 2003. His third rainbow jersey came during the nine year period in the Dutch squad, as did his three victories in Milan-San Remo and Brabantse Pijl, successes in the Vattenfall Cyclassics, Gent-Wevelgem, Paris-Tours and Tirreno-Adriatico, three of his four Tour de France stages plus the Maillot Vert, and five of his seven career Vuelta stage wins.
However, as a rider who turned 35 in February, it is inevitable that he is winning less often than he used to. 2011 was a quiet one in many ways, even if he still racked up some good performances. He took just two wins, netting stages of the Vuelta a Andalucia. Another win was denied to him when he was disqualified after crossing the line first in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco.
That was a controversial moment as it happened after his team-mate Luis Leon Sanchez gave him an unsolicited push forward in the sprint. Freire argued, and many agreed, that he was the strongest and that the action wasn’t the reason for his clear victory over Lampre-ISD's Francesco Gavazzi.
He also clocked up second on a stage of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, sixth in the Amstel Gold Race, third and fifth on stages of the Tour de Romandie, fourth on a stage of the Tour of California and third on stage seven of the Vuelta a España. More recently he was seventh in the GP de Wallonie, then went on to place ninth in the world championships.
Despite those respectable results, though, he has picked up just 38 WorldTour points and sits back in 91st place in those rankings. That decreased his bargaining power, but he still maintains he was not treated right.
He was given a small offer after withdrawing ill from the Vuelta, and felt that he deserved more. “I thought it was not correct,” he explained, speaking about the whole experience. “I have always behaved well with them. It was not my best year, but the performance was good.”
Rabobank’s Erik Breukink defends the team’s position. "There is no agreement, that's all,” he stated. “There was a big difference between what he wanted and what his market value is. We had different ideas and in spite of this, we improved our offer, but at one point Oscar told us he was quitting cycling, that he would only stay if he won the world championships. For us that was final, and when he changed his mind [to stay in cycling] we told him that conditions had changed. It is a pity because this ending is not nice.”
Unravelling of a relationship, and future targets:
In September, Breukink spoke about Freire’s uncertainty. “Oscar has himself stopped the contract negotiations for next year,” he told De Telegraaf then. “After the world championships, he will see if the sequel to his career is coming.”
Then, in early October, EldiarioMontanes.es reported that a verbal agreement had been reached with his current Rabobank team. That was swiftly denied by the team media officer Luuc Eisenga, who said on Twitter that no such offer existed.
“For the record: after Oscar Freire formally confirmed he would retire, we withdrew the offer we made,” he said.
Spanish website BiciCiclismo subsequently spoke to the rider’s brother and agent Antonio Freire, who said that the triple world champion had made a ‘final’ decision to continue next year, but that there had been some confusion. “Today there is no offer on the table,” he stated. “From yesterday to today the situation has changed a lot because things have been misunderstood.”
Rabobank made it clear at that point that negotiations were over. “We are all sad because we have always had a good relationship with Oscar,” Breukink tells El Pais now. “It's hard to ignore the human factor, but it's all a question of negotiations and money. I'm sure he can have another year at a good level and I hope so, but not that he wins the Amstel.”
The Dutch race is one of the most important on the calendar for the team, and it has been trying to win it in recent years with Robert Gesink and others.
Freire also wants to win it, though. It’s not clear if that’s because he’s always liked the event and feels that it suits his characteristics when he is going well, or if there is also a small element of revenge in thoughts of triumphing there. Either way, his move to Katusha will see him target the Classic.
“I will benefit from the change. I will find more motivation,” he vowed. “Those in Katusha are serious and experienced people. I will be directed by Valerio Piva, who I met at Mapei and who I have been told will select the calendar. I think of Sanremo, and of Amstel.”
He also makes it clear that he won’t be attending the Rabobank team presentation. In the past the squad has invited departing members too, such as it did with Denis Menchov last year. The Spaniard isn’t inclined to continue the tradition.
“Of course I will not go,” he said. “I told them that I will not go, I am not ready to be part of an act that will make them look good, with a clear conscience.”