The Rabobank team started the Vuelta a España with a two-time winner in Denis Menchov and one of the most experienced sprinters in Oscar Freire. Its return from the three week race though, was zero stage victories and 41st place overall for Menchov, not quite what the Dutch outfit had been hoping for.
“It was not good, especially the second part; the team has far too little to show for it,” said team manager Erik Breukink of the race. “But on the other hand, we realised at the start, that the two riders could have problems; Denis Menchov had the Tour in his legs and Oscar Freire had just had surgery. The final conclusion is not a happy one, but the disappointment is understandable."
According to director sportif Adri Van Houwelingen there were two points in Menchov’s race that stood out. "The fall of Denis Menchov, where he injured his knee and lost time was the one,” he said. “The second came a few days later in the stage to Andorra. Denis felt good and the team all rode in his service, but on the final climb he was found out. This last one caused a dip of morale in the team."
Laurens ten Dam crashing out of the race was also a low point, with the Dutch climber breaking bones for the third time this year. "He gave everything,” said Van Houwelingen, “but when we lost him, the last bit of fire in the team went out.”
"Menchov and Ten Dam always had a tough road ahead,” added Breukink. “But we had the hope that it still could be a nice Vuelta.
“From the start we knew that the combination of the Tour and Vuelta for Denis Menchov would be difficult,” he continued. “Similarly, with Oscar Freire: the nose-operation between Tour and Vuelta was necessary but not ideal. We hoped to score with him the second week, but that was too optimistic. He wasn’t even close to it."
After a best finishing position of sixth on stage 12, the three-time World champion elected not to start the fifteenth stage. Menchov suffered a torrid time in the mountains, but did come close to winning the time trial in Peñafiel, beating World champion Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank), but eventually being pipped by eventual third-place Peter Velits (HTC-Columbia).
By that time though, it was too late for the Dutch team to salvage anything.
"That fall [where Menchov injured his knee] was also a breaking point for the team, but the conclusion is mainly that the condition after the Tour was no longer good enough."
The Vuelta will likely turn out to be the final race for Menchov in the orange colours of Rabobank, where he has been since 2005, as he moves to the Geox team next year.