Rabobank’s Robert Gesink is one of the many riders coming out of Monday’s rest day feeling an improvement to the injuries he sustained in crashes earlier in the race. The Dutchman has been limping along since stage five, when he came down in the same crash that saw Janez Brajkovic (RadioShack) abandon with concussion and a broken collarbone.
The 25-year-old’s injuries saw him finish 1’23” behind lone winner Rui Costa (Movistar) on the uphill finish to Super-Besse, losing more than a minute to the rest of the overall contenders, and another eight seconds the following day on the climb to the finish in Saint-Flour.
“I had some bad times a few days ago but I’ve ridden through them and now it’s enjoyable to feel as though that is behind me,” said the Dutchman at the finish of stage ten in Carmaux. “There was an early crash and I was caught behind it but I myself was not on the ground. That happens some times when we’re all riding so close to each other. That’s part of cycling.”
Having better luck, in missing the early crash, as well as the chance to rest on Monday, has meant that Gesink it feeling a lot better than he has in previous days.
“Today I felt a little better than I was the other day,” he said. “There were a few little climbs on the road today and I had good sensations.”
Although he lost time on the two stages before the rest day, Gesink is still in possession of the white jersey, for best young rider, 51 seconds ahead of Rein Taaramäe (Cofidis).
“At this moment I’m happy in white,” he said. “It’s a nice jersey to wear. Of course it gets more important after we’ve had some mountains and I’m looking forward to the mountains; I think a lot of climbers are. We want to see how good we really are and get the chance to test ourselves. For me it’s the same, this was day that we just had to get through and we’ve done that. Good. There were no big problems and I’m feeling better and better.
Gesink has one more relatively easy day, which will likely go to the sprinters once more, before the race hits the Pyrénées. Hopefully he has put his injuries behind him and will be able to race to his full potential.
“Now I’m pretty happy,” said the Dutchman. “After the crash I was feeling bad for a few days. You can never say how things are going to develop but now I’m thinking very positive thoughts about the next few days."