Frustrated with ongoing breathing issues which continue to crop up despite previous treatments, there appears to be a chance that this season could end up being the final one for triple world road race champion Oscar Freire, On the same day that his compatriot Carlos Sastre has announced that he is stopping, Freire’s Rabobank team manager Erik Bruekink has said that the Spaniard is unsure as to what he is doing.
“Oscar has himself stopped the contract negotiations for next year,” he told De Telegraaf. “After the world championships, he will see if the sequel to his career is coming.”
Freire pulled out of the Vuelta a España due to breathing issues, but showed solid form in yesterday’s GP de Wallonie. He finished seventh, coming home in the sixteen man chase group behind Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma Lotto). He’ll aim to continue building form prior to the Elite world road race on Sunday week.
Now 35 years of age, the rider has had a superb career. He won three world road race championships and is vying to take the record with four this month; he’s also taken four stages plus the points classification in the Tour de France, seven stages in the Vuelta a España and three editions of Milan San Remo.
A strong sprinter who fares well on the sort of lumpy courses which see off many of his rivals, his many other successes include three editions of Brabantse Pijl, Ghent Wevelgem, Paris-Tours and the Vattenfall Cyclassics.
Freire suggested early this season that he might stop, but later decided that he would almost certainly continue. It is understand that the 2012 Olympic Games is a big attraction for him.
Today’s statements by Breukink will dampen those expectations, although it must be kept in mind that Freire was considering leaving the team. It remains to be seen if the rider’s statements to Breukink reflect more his willingness to head elsewhere, or if his morale is indeed so low as to make him stop.
His brother and agent Antonio Freire spoke last month about the negotiations. “We are now negotiating with Rabobank to renew for next year, but still nothing,” he told Biciciclismo. “If Rabobank does not act well, there is the possibility of joining another team. We now have other possibilities, so if not with Rabobank, he will be in another squad.
“We would like to race with a Spanish team, as we've always said. (Movistar) is the best Spanish team there, it is a historic team and we have a good relationship with the leaders.”