Having won the opening team time trial of March’s Tirreno-Adriatico, albeit with an almost entirely different line up, Rabobank might have expected to finish better than seventh in today’s first Giro d’Italia stage. Behind the stage’s top two of HTC-Highroad and RadioShack though, a cluster of five teams finished on almost the same time.
"Unfortunately, we have five teams in a handkerchief and that we are just the last of the five,” said team director Nico Verhoeven. “But nevertheless our team had a good time trial.”
Liquigas-Cannondale and Omega Pharma-Lotto finished within a fraction of a second of one another, 22 seconds behind HTC-Columbia, Garmin-Cervélo and Lampre-ISD were both 24 seconds back, while Rabobank lost 26 seconds to the American squad. It is the relative time, and not the position, that gives Verhoeven optimism for the team.
“All nine riders have done well,” he said. “In depth, the team was good, nobody fell behind and nobody was far ahead.”
The fact that the nine Rabobank riders were all so well coordinated meant that the men in orange managed to stay together over the 19.3km course.
“It was good that they were well matched,” Verhoeven added, “because if riders are good, there is also a danger that the whole thing is pulled apart."
Originally, the Rabobank plan was to go for stage wins through Dutch sprinter Theo Bos, who is just beginning to translate his colossal track speed to the road. Unfortunately though, the Dutchman is suffering from a respiratory infection and was forced to withdraw at the last minute.
Bos was exchanged for Aussie sprinter Graeme Brown; meaning that the plan can still be put into action, but the team will also look at the overall classification with some of its young Dutch stars.
"Last year we had Bauke Mollema and Pieter Weening and it was a test race for Steven Kruijswijk,” explained Verhoeven. “Now, Steven and Pieter are our men for the rankings, where we will put minimal pressure on Steven.
"Last year he rode a good Giro,” he continued, “but you get nothing in advance. We're hoping he can get the same condition. Tom Jelte Slagter now has Steven’s role of last year: nothing required of him but anything goes.
“We look forward with pleasure to this Giro,” he added. “Seven boys from our own program. I’ve known them are since they were in the Continental team. The atmosphere is good, but it must also be created from the belly of the team, from the coaching.
Although Brown is the only non-Netherlands rider in the team, his long service with the team mean that he will not be an outsider.
“We ride with eight Dutch and one Australian, but Dutch is the language with us in this year's Giro and Graeme fits the bill nicely with this."