Rabobank were headed into today's Giro di Lombardia with high hopes earlier this week, following Robert Gesink's win last weekend at the Giro dell'Emilia. The serious mountain bike crash of Gesink's father, however, meant that the talented young Dutchman would be spending the next days at his father's side in the hospital in Maastricht and not pursuing his first Lombardia crown.
Rabobank might have lost its top prospect for victory and a major favorite, but it still has some options, namely with another top Dutch climber, Bauke Mollema.
Mollema, like everyone else at the Giro del Piemonte, was not able to handle Gilbert's late acceleration, but an 8th place on the day was a solid indicator of his good late season form.
"Things are getting better," said Mollema on the team's website Rabosport. "I would like a chance in the finale, and then lots of things can happen. If Freire is still there, I can work for him, and with what's left, I can go for my own chances."
The new look race route for today's final Monument of 2010, the Giro di Lombardia, could favor Mollema, the winner of a difficult stage at the Tour of Poland earlier this summer.
The back to back hits of the Madonna del Ghisallo and the Colma di Sormano have the potential to add a significant amount of difficulty to an already tough route. The only question is whether the relatively benign slopes of the Sormano and its relative distance from the finish in Como could keep it from really showing its teeth.
Team director, Erik Dekker, feels that the new addition of the Colma di Sormano will impact the race more than just making the favorites a little bit more tired en route to Como.
"After the Madonna del Ghisallo, they immediately start into another climb. That makes it a lot harder. If it explodes, it will be difficult for us to control. It is certainly a challenge to see how far we come," said one of the most aggressive Dutch racers ever in a quick conversation with De Telegraaf.
The first bad day of weather in quite some time in Lombardia could make for a more spirited ascent of the Ghisallo and Sormano. If anything, the possibility of wet roads will make the descent to Nesso from the summit of the Sormano absolutely critical. Riders will have just as much chance to push out a lead going uphill, as they will downhill.
It will be interesting to see what happens, but it looks fairly certain that we can expect Mollema to be a part of the latter selections. Can he pull out a special ride to close out a promising season?