After more than a month away from racing, Robert Gesink returns to action in this weekend’s Canadian Pro Tour races, the GP Québec and the GP Montréal. Because of this break, and the limited preparation the two races offer compared to the Vuelta a España, the Dutchman has elected to concentrate on the Giro di Lombardia instead of the World Championships.
"During the Tour we thought about it,” he he told De Telegraaf, “but after France it was decided to do it as I'm doing now. There was pretty early contact with the national coach [Leo Van Vliet].
“It is a combination of events,” he explained, “a day on a plane, twice; the limited preparation for me with just the two races in Canada; a course where the opinions are divided. Judging by the people who have inspected it, it will be difficult to get rid of sprinters. So it would be difficult for me to get a good result."
Instead of making the journey to Melbourne and back, Gesink will be hoping that his relative freshness will work to his advantage in the end of season Italian races. Not being there in the orange colours of the Netherlands will be a strange experience for the 24-year-old though.
"If the rest of the riders are suffering from jet lag from the trip to Australia it’s certainly not to my disadvantage,” he said. “To miss the World Championships was a real dilemma. I’ve ridden all the editions since Verona [in 2004]; it’s always beautiful to represent you country. When the race starts, it won’t be a pleasant feeling. But you have to choose which you like best, no matter how sad it is. I am glad that Van Vliet is happy with it."
With such a long time away from competition Gesink is not sure how the weekend’s races will go. He hopes that the rest will help with the end of this season and the start of next. "Here in Canada will show how good I am,” he said. “Hopefully I can have a great close to the season and good winter’s training."
With this season almost over, Gesink already has next year’s targets in his sights. “In 2011,” he said, “I want ride the Tour and the Vuelta. Perhaps not both for the overall classification, but we will have to see what I can do.”
With Russian Denis Menchov departed from the Rabobank team to Geox in 2011, Gesink will no longer be hindered by joint leadership in the Tour; without this, it will be interesting to see how well he can go.