The beginning of the season saw just three riders join the World Tour squad and three riders leave. The three time world champion Óscar Freire had announced his retirement but decided against decision and joined Katusha. There were two departures to the new GreenEdge team with 2011 maglia rosa wearer Pieter Weening and Sebastian Langeveld heading down under. The Australian connection was maintained in the incoming riders as one of the best lead out riders in the peloton saw Rabobank as an opportunity to test himself against the men he was setting up for the sprint wins. Mark Renshaw had won a handful of races as a lead-out man and his overall victory in the 2011 edition of the Tour of Qatar his biggest win so far but he was hungry for more wins. Joining the fast Australian where two youngsters in Wilco Kelderman who moved across from the continental squad and Jetse Bol began his professional career after riding as a stagiaire for the team.
The first win of the season came at the Clásica de Almeria with Australian sprinter Michael Matthews crossing the line first. Matthews, a former u/23 road race world championships, will ride for GreenEdge in 2013 after two seasons on the Dutch outfit. After his season opening win Matthews added Stage 3 of the Tour of Utah to his palmares as well as winning the points classification. These were his only wins for the season as the sprint trio of Renshaw, Matthews and Theo Bos had some success but were disappointing results with their pedigree. Bos had several wins across the season as he continues to adapt to the road after his track career as a five time world champion. Bos won seven races in 2012 with Stage 3 of the Eneco Tour his only World Tour win as he beat home the rising sprint star John Degenkolb. As well recording stage wins in the Presidential Tour of Turkey and World Ports Classic Bos took out several one day races. The Dutch Food Valley Classic was a repeat of his 2011 win with victories in Dwars door Drenthe and Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen further indication of his impressive one day results.
Luis León Sánchez has now been riding for the Rabobank team for two seasons and recorded several big wins. In his first year the addition of the multi Spanish ITT champion looked like a big mistake. He went into the Tour without a win on the road, his only win being his third national ITT title and his season was looking like being a write off. Victory on Stage 9 was a long overdue win but it was the lowly GC placing of 57th that was well down on his 10th placing the previous year which suggested a lone win wasn’t going to paper over the large cracks. In 2010 Sánchez finished the Tour and Vuelta in 10th place for his best Grand Tour placings but since joining Rabobank his best finish has been 53rd at the 2011 Vuelta. After the one road win of 2011, Sánchez came out firing in 2012 by winning Stage 6 of Paris-Nice and went onto to win two stages at the Tour of Romandie and throw away overall victory on the final ITT. This was a surprise as Sánchez is more than competent in ITT’s and nine second lead over Bradley Wiggins became a 1:15 deficit as he finished the race in tenth place overall. As well as his Swiss and French wins, Sánchez won Stage 2 of the Vuelta a Castilla y León in Spain and added a fourth national ITT to his palmares to that the by the time of the Tour there would not be as much pressure as his debut season on the team.
The Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey is always a happy hunting ground for the sprinters in 2012 it was again. With Bos winning the first and last stage it meant the Dutchmen wore the leaders jersey on Stage 2 and also lead the points classification by virtue of his win. The lead was lost in both classifications but Renshaw’s breakthrough win for the team came on Stage 4 in a photo finish over ex-teammate Matt Goss. To take three sprint wins while up against likes of Marcel Kittel, Alessandro Petacchi, André Greipel and Goss was vindication in the belief that Rabobank had placed in their two sprinters. After the Turkish delight there was a brief interlude before the most successful stage race for the team in 2012.
At the end of the 2011 season Gesink crashed while training and broke his leg in multiple places. This meant an interrupted pre season and left him unable to defend his Tour of Oman overall where he also won two stages, including an ITT victory over world champion Fabian Cancellara, and the points classification. After a lacklustre beginning to the season Gesink once again skipped the Giro d’Italia to focus on the Tour of California and build form, readying himself for the Tour. With an almost anonymous showing at the Giro, May was instead an American focused month. The team was led by Gesink who would be supported by Kelderman and was hoping to challenge for the overall. The Tour of California in reflection was a race owned by Peter Sagan who won five of the eight stages as well as the points classification. The Californian race is generally a mix of numerous sprint stages, an ITT and a decisive mountain stage or two. The queen stage of 2012 was the ascent to Mount Baldy and it was to the site of Gesink’s return to form as he took the stage and the leaders jersey which he held onto to record his first Tour of California victory.
Gesink was learning to walk again in January and his ride up Mount Baldy was one that many had been waiting and hoping to see. On the ride up the mountain Gesink had dropped all his rivals but needed to catch one last rider from the breakaway to secure the win. With one kilometre to go Gesink caught he final rider and sped past him but was caught on the penultimate corner before one final surge took him across the line in first place. On the stage teammate Kelderman was just over one minute behind his team leader as he finished in seventh place to rise to seventh in the overall classification. Kelderman’s ride made it a successful for the Dutch team as he had also ridden into the lead of the young rider classification meaning he team had two classification leads to protect on the final stage. Sagan won his fifth and final stage but with Matthews finishing inside the top ten for the third time the team had plenty of reasons to celebrate.
Kelderman is only 22 and after his maiden season in the professional ranks he could be seen as a third Dutch GC candidate alongside compatriots Gesink and Mollema. While riding for the continental squad Kelderman mad people take notice with his overall victory at the Glava Tour of Norway and Thüringen Rundfahrt. There was no overall victory in 2012 for the Amersfoort born rider but three young rider classification victories is a huge achievement. Complementing his Californian win were win at the Critérium du Dauphiné and Danmark Rundt finishing eighth and seventh respectively. At the Dauphiné Kelderman had a surprise fourth placing in the ITT ahead of Chris Froome, Cadel Evans and teammate Sánchez which saw him take the white jersey. Kelderman won three of the four classification victories in 2012 with Matthews the only other rider to win a classification other than overall. There was a disappointing lack of team victories in 2012 which will be an area where the team needs to improve in.
Another young rider who looks like challenging for future stage race victories is Steven Kruijswijk. Kruijswijk has now ridden all three Grand Tours with his eighth placing in the 2011 Giro his best result so far. With Gesink and Mollema withdrawing from the Tour Kruijswijk found himself thrown into the deep end, given the opportunity to ride for himself. Laurens ten Dam and Sánchez are both capable of mounting challenges for the GC but the younger Kruijswijk also in the race for the white jersey the Tour was a baptism of fire for the Dutchman. Kruijswijk and ten Dam finished 33rd and 38th respectively but it was the third place in the young riders classification by Kruijswijk that caught the eye. Kruijswijk is closer in age to Gesink and Mollema than Kelderman but with the uncertainly that surrounds the 2014 future of what is now the Blanco team, this could be the impetus Kruijswijk needs to take the next step and win a stage race.
The Tour was messy race for Rabobank with four riders withdrawing due to crashes. Sánchez’s stage win once again was the highlight for the team as only two riders have won stages since 2009 at the Tour. The Vuelta was a happier affair as ten Dam and Gesink finished inside the top ten with ten Dam recording his first top ten result at a Grand Tour. There was brief led the in teams classification but with both riders in the top ten over 10 minutes behind Alberto Contador neither rider nor the team really animated the race with the second placing in the TTT the best result in the Spanish race.
Lars Boom is only 28 but already is a Cyclo-cross world champion and Dutch road race and ITT national champion. Having made the switch to the road Boom still finds time for the odd Cyclo-cross race and in 2012 won his sixth consecutive national title. In 2008 he was Dutch and world Cyclo-cross champion as well as road and time trial champion which was a sign his supreme skill on a bike regardless of the discipline. After his overall victory and two stages wins at the 2011 Tour of Britain Boom added a further strong to his bow as won the World Tour event, Eneco Tour overall. Boom didn't win a stage of the race but his performance in the ITT was enough for him to join Alessandro Ballan in a breakaway on the final stage and take victory but 26 seconds. Boom also finished second at Ster ZLM Toer behind Mark Cavendish but won Stage 3 for his solo road win in 2012. Boom other notable results were sixth at Paris-Roubaix, his first top ten finish in a monument, and a dual runner up in the Dutch ITT and road race championships.
Two other riders won races for Rabobank in 2012 which both came at the Vuelta a Burgos. Matti Breschel won his first and last race for Rabobank after a knee injury has largely sidelined him during his two year stint with the Dutch team. The two time medallist at the road world championships joined the team and was expected to challenge for the one day classics and win stages. He returns to the Saxo team after a disappointing spell but his win Stage 3 was a rare highlight. The next day Paul Martens made it two wins in two days as he took out Stage 4 and concluded a successful Spanish endeavour and his first win since 2010 at the GP de Wallonie.
Top Five Results
Eneco Tour Overall Lars Boom
Tour of California Overall Robert Gesink
Tour de France Stage 14 Luis León Sánchez
Clásica de San Sebastián Luis León Sánchez
Critérium du Dauphiné young rider classification Wilco Kelderman
Disappointing Riders: Matti Breschel was hailed as a signing who could add a layer of class to the Dutch outfit and deliver cobbled classics. He returns to Bjarne Riis with his best days possibly behind him. The Dutch outfit won’t miss him in 2013 but it’s a shame that a rider with his potential had such an abject tenure with the orange squad. Carlos Barredo was provisionally suspended by the team for violating the Anti-Doping blood passport rules. His 2012 results were almost nonexistent with a third place overall at the Tour of Belgium his only notable result. For the former Vuelta stage winner and 2009 Clásica de San Sebastián this meant the end he duly announced his retirement. On the road the signing of Mark Renshaw was a little bit of a gamble as joined the team as a sprinter and not a lead out man. His solitary win was disappointing but with a year under his belt and time spent working on the train, 2013 should bring about a few more wins.
Breakthrough Riders: The breakthrough rider of note was Wilco Kelderman and his three young rider classification victories. Although there were no wins his results indicate that he can push on next season and challenge for overall victory as he proved with his victory in the 2011 Glava Tour of Norway. With Gesink and Mollema almost seasoned Grand Tour veterans yet only in their mid 20’s, they should provide advice to the youngest and help him develop into a stage race winner. Matti Breschel’s win at the Vuelta a Burgos was a breakthrough after his time in the wilderness but he came to the team as a known quantity. Matthews chimed in with a few wins but once again it leaves Kelderman as the standout breakthrough Rabobank rider in 2012.
2013? With no team successes in 2012 and poor showing in the Grand Tour’s, this will certainly be an area where Blanco will aim to improve. The uncertainty surrounding the future of the team may drive some of the riders who threaten into big time winners. Gesink has said he will look at the Giro with the plan to win the overall as an early statement of intent reflecting the philosophy of the white label team. The limited stage race victory count is far too low for a team with numerous riders capable of winning such races and should be rectified in 2013.
With Jack Bobridge, Robert Wagner, David Tanner, Lars Petter Nordhaug and Sep Vanmarcke all joining the team in 2013 the victory count should rise considerably. (Classics, swap for Breschel) joins Vanmarcke will be a handy rider in the spring classics and is a clear trade up on Breschel. If Vanmarcke can snare an early win or two that could prove to be a massive confidence for the team and provide a platform for success in the Ardennes, the Giro and in California. All eyes will be on Mollema and Gesink as they try to crack the top five of a Grand Tour and this is their time to do so. With good support in the team and several riders who can pressure of the two by winnings stages should ensure the right environment for success. Boom, Bos and Sánchez should all take off where the ended the season and rack up more wins while Renshaw should be better option in the sprints after his debut year. All in all, the season will be defined by how the riders react to the massive change of Rabobank pulling out. Riders will be looking to save their careers and the team. Whether or not they can remains up to them but there is plenty of talent spread across the team.
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