The Rabobank team hasn't had the smooth start to the season they would have liked. Even with the good news that three-time World Champion Oscar Freire is firing on all cylinders, Mallorca saw Dutch Classics hope Sebastian Langeveld head home with a bad knee. Now, their general classification hopeful Robert Gesink is also having problems.
Gesink was forced to return early from the team's training camp in southern France early. The 23 year old came down with the flu, and will now miss his expected start in this weekend's Tour du Haut Var. Poor weather conditions while he was racing in the Tour of the Mediterranean last week are likely the culprit. While missing the French race won't be ideal for his build-up, the team doesn't expect it to affect his preparations too much. He's now expected to get back to racing in Tirreno-Adriatico, which takes place from the 10th to the 16th of March.
"I'd really like to race Haut Var. Last week in the Tour of the Mediterranean I was getting better each day. On the last day I felt fine. But now I'm not myself. I will now take a few days break and then continue full on with my preparations. My next race will be Tirreno," explained Gesink.
Sebastian Langeveld, on the other hand, has been recovering well from the issue with his knee that saw him miss the Mallorca Challenge. He has experienced knee problems in the past, so the team decided to send him home to The Netherlands for further tests. With former teammate Juan Antonio Flecha's switch to the British Team Sky this year, Langeveld will be expected to play a major role in Rabobank's Classics campaign. Sufficiently recovered, the young Dutchman will now be part of Rabobank's seven-man team that will contest the Ruta del Sol. The five-day Spanish race begins this Sunday, and will be Langeveld's first race of the season.