Management

RABOBANK (RAB) - NED

The Rabobank team has been one of the cornerstones of professional cycling for more than a decade but the Dutch bank is more than just a sponsor, it is also a key supporter of every kind of cycling in Holland, even sponsoring development and mountain bike teams, as well as everyday riding.

The Rabobank UCI ProTour team had a successful 2009 and looks set to do even better in 2010. Russia’s Denis Menchov added overall victory in the Giro d’Italia to his win in the 2007 Vuelta a España and he will again target the Italian stage race in May.

Menchov shares stage race team leadership with the rapidly developing Robert Gesink. The lanky Dutch climber was ranked 10th in the final UCI World Ranking in 2009 after finishing third in the Amstel Gold Race and sixth in the Vuelta a España. Gesink will surely be a contender in the tougher stage races in 2010 and especially the Tour de France, which starts in Holland this year.

Of course Rabobank has world class riders for every kind of race. These include three-time World Champion Oscar Freire of Spain for the sprints, all-round talent Lars Boom, Australian sprinter Graeme Brown, Belgium’s Nick Nuyens and strong time trialist Stef Clements.

“We’ve got some big names but the young riders we’ve developed are starting to emerge,” Team Manager Erik Breukink predicts.

“Robert Gesink has again grown enormously and will get better in 2010. Lars Boom surprised me in the Vuelta and won a stage, we hope that Sebastian Langeveld can do well in the classics and that Oscar Freire returns to his best form. I’m sure we’ve plenty to look forward to in 2010.”