Rabobank’s triple world champion Oscar Freire has said that his team-mate Robert Gesink is has a huge amount of ability, but needs to learn much in the way of tactics.
“Sometimes I think: with the legs of Gesink, I would have won the Tour. Robert doesn’t ride as smart as me, I see that he makes mistakes,” he told the magazine NUsport.
Freire showed his tactical awareness with his first major victory, attacking at precisely the right time to solo to victory at the Verona world championships in 1999. Famously absent minded off the bike, he is regarded as extremely clever on it, and this has helped him rack up some of the biggest victories in the sport.
Over a 14 year pro career, he has taken some of cycling’s top races. He has won three world championships, equalling the record, has taken three editions of Milan-San Remo and Brabantse Pijl, four stages plus the points classification in the Tour de France, seven Vuelta stages, as well as victories in Gent-Wevelgem, Paris-Tours and the Vattenfall Cyclassics.
An example of his tactical prowess is his stage 7 win in the 2006 Tour de Suisse. Part of a five man breakaway in the race to Ascona, he bunnyhopped over a median strip with five kilometres remaining, took the short route around a roundabout and opened a stage-winning gap on the others. They were forced to go the long way around and never recaptured him.
“Nobody can tell me that I'm a stupid rider. If I have good legs, I'm always in the right place,” he said. “I was tactically very strong at a young age; with some guys it takes a little longer.”
Being on the same team, the Rabobank team will hope that Freire can help Gesink with this education. He is convinced that he can succeed in the sport’s biggest race if the Dutchman progresses. “If he learns from his mistakes he could in future seasons battle for the Tour…he has so much talent.”
He said that he considered this year might be too soon for him to win the race, but that he could do very well. Gesink’s best placing thus far is the sixth place he achieved last year.
He has shown strong form this season, winning the overall classification in the Tour of Oman. Importantly, he took the time trial in the race, something which was until now an Achilles heel for him. Since then, he has also placed second overall in Tirreno-Adriatico and third in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco.
Freire has also been successful, winning two stages in the Vuelta a Andalucía. He was first to the line on stage five of the Pais Vasco event, but a boosting push from Rabobank team-mate Luis Leon Sanchez led to him being relegated.