The Rabobank team dominated the Ster Elektrotoer prologue in the Netherlands this evening. Jos van Emden led the way, with three of his Rabobank teammates finishing in the top five. Van Emden clocked 7'41 on the 6.8km long prologue route, three seconds faster than Lars Boom. Van Emden also takes over the leader's jersey.
It was Van Emden's second win in five days, after also winning the prologue of the Delta Profronde. "I am in the form of my life," said Van Emden after the race. "But I don't understand it."
It was not only Van Emden who continues to do well. In the Profronde, the Rabobankers also occupied the first three spots in the prologue. "This is unbelievable," said sports director Erik Dekker. "It was already nice [in the Profronde] last Friday, but this here is certainly a different tour. There are a lot of ProTour riders at the start. And we dominate the day's results completely. The competition was really big here."
Dekker was not at all surprised about his top guys doing well. "[Van Emden] has done a huge step forward. Of course Lars Boom doesn't surprise me, either." But Pieter Weening in fifth, sprinter Graeme Brown in eighth and youngster Steven Kruijswijk in 14th were not expected.
"Pieter Weening fifth in a prologue. I have never experienced that," said Dekker. "Of course Pieter is very motivated, he wants to warm up for the Tour. For me the biggest surprise of the day was was Steven Kruijswijk close to the top ten."
The first rider to go was Dutchman Rune Van Der Meijden, who mastered the course in 8'22. Marcel Sieberg and Graeme Brown, who started within a minute of each other, were the first riders to crack the eight-minute mark. Brown was the leader with 7'55, while Sieberg trailed by only four seconds.
André Greipel put himself in-between the two with a 7'56, a good ride for a sprinter. Sebastian Langeveld then was the first rider to ride under 7'50, with a 7'48 to be precise. He was only passed by Van Emden and Lars Boom.
Results prologue 6.8km
1. Jos Van Emden (RAB) 7'41
2. Lars Boom (RAB) 0'03
3. Sebastian Langeveld (RAB) 0'07
4. Alex Rasmussen (SAX)
5. Pieter Weening (RAB)