The normally easy-going, mild-mannered Rolf Aldag had some harsh words for his HTC-Columbia team following their dismal showing at Saturday's Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschbronn-Frankfurt race. His response was justified considering that one of the world's top teams managed to miss out entirely on the finale - the peloton was pulled for the final circuits.
In a remarkable twist of fate and shoddy riding by the team, HTC-Columbia managed to not have a single rider in the 28-rider selection that settled the race. For a director and rider like Rolf Aldag, who raced to the mantra of never give up, his reaction following the race was far from surprising:
"The final outcome was absolutely disappointing for us. We lost the race in a five minute period. Tony Martin was in the front group, but crashed, and at that point, the race was over for us."
It was an unfortunate moment to lose Martin out of the front group, but the team had more than enough power in hand in the peloton to take care of the gap that still stood at a very manageable margin with a lot of racing to go. Aldag bemoaned his team's lack of confidence in a decisive moment in the race:
"The team was uncertain. Should they wait for Tony or not? But the fact is, we had to have a rider in that front group. The performance of the team just didn't measure up. There was no bad luck involved. We had five riders together in the main field, and they were only a minute behind the 28-man lead group. We simply needed to ride and try to bring it together for Andre Greipel. The team cannot give up so fast.
Aldag was hugely fired up when he spoke on the Frankfurter Rundschau. He spoke to practical matters, to execution, but also to pride in racing at home.
"For some of our riders, it was a home race. I expect them to race it as such. During the T-Mobile years, this never would have happened. The team gave up mentally far too early. This must not happen in Frankfurt. This is not Tra La La, but a very important race, and the conclusion of the classics season. Next year, we must make it a top priority."