Freire, Ten Dam drop the Vuelta
Two Rabobank riders are out of the Vuelta a Espana. Laurens Ten Dam abandoned the race after crashing in stage 15, while Oscar Freire didn’t make it to the start of the 15th stage. The latest two to drop out of the Grand Tour are following the parting of former overall leader Igor Anton after he broke his elbow in stage 14. But unlike Anton, Freire is dropping out by choice, not injury.
“As I didn’t come to the Vuelta with great shape, I need one week of recovery before I train again for the World Championships,” said Freire.
Freire will be leading the Dutch team at the UCI Road World Championships in Geelong and Melbourne, Australia. He is one of a number of cyclers who hold three World Champion titles, won between 1999 and 2004. If he wins in 2010, he will be the first to wear the rainbow jersey four times.
“I’m hopeful,” said Friere. “My confidence isn’t lost. I know that the circuit in Geelong isn’t easy. Usually at the Worlds, the number of kilometres makes the race hard anyway. Everyone says the course is good for me.”
He will be travelling to Australia on Wednesday to train in the same environment as the competition, stating that the remaining stages of the Vuelta are not the ideal training ground for him.
Laurent Ten Dam had been planning on supporting his teammate and countryman Freire in Australia, but his broken wrist is reportedly too serious, and he will not be able to recover in time. It was his third bone-breaking crash of the season, starting with a hip early in the season and three breaks, including his wrist, in the Tour de Suisse following his recovery. "It's awful…This is a tough blow," said the 29-year-old rider, who had stood in 23rd overall and managed to finish stage 15 in 37th place despite his broken wrist.
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