Theo Bos has “come home” to Rabobank after one year away with the Cervélo TestTeam, according to De Telegraaf. The Dutch sprinter, who only switched to the road in 2009 after a highly successful career on the track, rode for one year with the Rabobank Continental team before moving to Swiss-registered Cervélo this year. With the team folding at the end of the season, Bos has taken the opportunity to make his return.
The ambitious 27-year-old already has an idea on which races he wants to concentrate on his return to the orange, blue and white jersey. He plans to ride the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España and, as well as the races on the road, he plans to ride the World Championship Madison on the track with compatriot Peter Schep.
The 2011 World Championships will be held on the Apeldoorn track in the Netherlands, which is a big motivator for the former sprint, Keirin and kilometre World champion.
“I’ll get help from the team,” he explained at the Dutch team's presentation in Kaatsheuvel. “The road has priority, but certainly for the Madison you don’t need two months to concentrate on it full time."
For Bos though, participation in the Omnium, where his sprinting background could see him do well, is not an option. "That requires too much preparation," he said.
As well as the familiarity of the colours of his new jersey, for Bos the familiarity of being among his own countrymen once more makes a real difference.
“It feels a bit like coming home,” he said. “I know a lot of guys, even if we didn’t ride on the same team this year. We’d meet each other in hotels, at races. It is a very different atmosphere than Cervélo, where I was the only Dutch rider.”
After having taken a number of victories last year, and having ridden his first Grand Tour in the Vuelta a España (although he abandoned the race after crashing into a photographer’s motorbike in the stage 17 time trial), he knows exactly which races he wants to ride in 2011.
“I will start the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España,” he explained. “The Giro is something I’ve never ridden before, but I’m going there with a young team focused on sprinting.”
Although he is 27 years old, Bos’ relative inexperience on the road means that he is still learning his craft; although he was previously almost unbeatable in a track sprint – he was World champion in 2004, 2006 and 2007, and previously held the World record for the flying 200 metres – he has yet to translate his blistering pace to the road.
After a year at the top with the Cervélo TestTeam though, he feels that he may become “De Boss” once more.
“Nothing is impossible,” he said. “I've been in contact with the best in the World. I see that they are still a lot better, but the connection is created.
“The awareness is there: it can, it will succeed,” he concluded.