Fighting amongst a strong contingent of American time trial specialists in Colorado yesterday, Stef Clement (Rabobank) finished as the best placed European, earning a solid fifth place. Levi Leipheimer (Radioshack) won the uphill test. Clement used the solid showing to move from 17th to eighth place overall and laid the foundation for what will likely be another appearance on the Dutch team at the World time trial Championships.
Rabobank began the day with a similar situation as how it ended. Team leader Robert Gesink was in eighth place, and Clement in 17th. Never noted to be a great rider against the clock, Gesink slipped down to 17th and Clement moved up to eighth.
“It was not an easy time trial,” team director Nico Verhoeven said yesterday. “It was a great course, and a serious test. Stef Clement was one of the stars.” In a difficult time trial with large gaps separating many of the favorites, Clement was 40 seconds behind Leipheimer, and seven seconds behind the man who finished just ahead, Garmin-Cervelo’s Tom Danielson. Clement got the better of noted strongmen Tejay Van Garderen (HTC Highroad), David Zabriskie (Garmin-Cervelo), and Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team).
“Stef is quickly getting his form back to a high level,” Verhoeven remarked. “He had a very strong ride with no weak moments. This is very promising for the World Championships.”
In his sixth year as a pro, and third with Rabobank, Clement has become known as a solid domestique, with just a handful of wins to his credit and all but one being time trials. The 28-year-old has been Dutch national time trial champion on four occasions, including in 2011. In 2006, Clement won a time trial stage of the Tour du l’Avenir, and he blazed to the win in the Chrono des Nations-Les Herbiers in 2008.
Not an expert at going uphill, Clement indicated that he suffered greatly on the gradually ascending course in Vail. “Very painful time trial today,” Clement wrote in a tweet yesterday. “Sixteen kilometers can be tough. Didn’t have a great feeling but even after six years I can’t count on that,” he added, referring to the number of years he has been a pro.
“We actually underestimated him a bit, given the good form he currently rides with,” Verhoeven said of the Dutchman. “It’s good, because now we can still play a role in the general classification.”
“We are a small team (Rabobank brought just six riders to Colorado), but some of our riders are in very good shape. Pieter Weening, for example, is in very good form right now,” he added. Even though Gesink struggled in the stage three time trial, Verhoeven still likes the chances of his diminished ranks picking up a stage win.
“We will definitely try it,” he stated.
When the USA Pro Cycling Challenge concludes Sunday, Rabobank sends only two riders, Grischa Niermann and Laurens Ten Dam, back to Europe. Gesink, Clement, Weening, and Dennis Van Winden will stay in North America to race in the Canadian classics, where Gesink will try to defend his GP Montreal title.
Team spokesman Luuc Eisenga said yesterday that the Dutch climber is on his way back to high form after a tough July.
He is doing fine…obviously the Tour was disappointing for him as he had worked so hard for it – it was very difficult when it went wrong because of his crashes,” he told VeloNation. “But he has kept working since then and that showed what a good sportsman he is.”
He said that after the Canadian races, Gesink will return to Europe and aim for success in the Italian Classics Giro dell'Emilia, GP Beghelli and Giro di Lombardia.