Rabobank Group

Brown comes seventh in first stage

The race has started in the Tour Down Under, the first ProTour competition of the season. After 141 kilometres in the searing heat, German André Greipel triumphed in what is now almost his traditional victory on Australian soil, in the sprint in Tanunda. Rabobank sprinter Graeme Brown (photo) could not play a significant role in this, as he was missing the support of two team-mates, Tom Leezer and Rick Flens, both of whom came in trailing well behind, partly due to a fall at the start of the race.

Just one kilometre into the race the peloton came acropper, when someone in the middle of the group made a steering mistake, causing 40 competitors to crash. Despite the considerable havoc that ensued, injuries were fortunately not serious. Rabobank team members Tom Leezer, Rick Flens and Stef Clement were involved in the incident. Team leader Frans Maassen got something of a shock, but to his relief damage was limited to superficial scrapes and some twisted bicycles.

Bit of a shock
"You get a fright when you see half the peloton go down like that. I was thinking ‘that can’t be it, surely?” said Frans Maassen. "But luckily everyone was alright. Later on there’ll be an Australian osteopath coming to the hotel to see if he can help us out, he’s a friend of Graeme Brown. On the face of it the damage doesn’t seem too serious, but we also want to prevent a situation in which the boys are not sitting on their bikes properly."

All those involved in the crash were able to rejoin the peloton quickly, but three participants manage to avoid it and get ahead. The three managed to gain an advantage of up to ten minutes, but with the finale in sight, the Team High Road in particular gave great chase. Before the last obstacle of the day, a short but murderous climb, the stragglers caught up with the leaders. However, the climb was too much for many in the peloton, including Leezer and Flens.

"In the sprint, we missed Tommie Leezer especially. He plays an important part in setting Graeme’s pace. Nevertheless, I don’t think we would have won today”, admitted team leader Maassen. “Our goal this week is still a stage victory. And with Brown on the team, I have great hopes of getting close to this. He is in very good shape."

Second day same as Monday

The second stage of the Tour Down Under was very similar to Monday’s stage. Despite a futile long run by three riders, André Greipel was once again the winner, and Graeme Brown (photo) finished in the second group of sprinters right behind. On Monday he came in seventh, on Tuesday he did slightly better at fifth place. In the general classification in the Australian race, the Rabobank team captain is in seventh place. Jos van Emden climbed to the ninth place in the youth classification.

Once again, the peloton started out at a reasonably steady pace. Three aggressors pulled ahead fairly easily, and after 40 kilometres their advantage over the rest had grown to 11:35. Race leader Greipel’s team could not let this continue, but it took until well into the race before the last two attackers were overtaken.

Killer hill
The peloton then split up in the very difficult last section of the race, partly due to a major fall four kilometres from the finish. This time none of the Rabobank team was involved. Rick Flens, Jos van Emden, Tom Leezer and Graeme Brown seemed set for a duel with team High Road, but after a strong impetus, a hill three kilometres on proved to be too much for the Rabobank team. Only Tom Leezer was recovered enough to take on this challenge, and this was inadequate against the force of the Team High Road and André Greipel.

"Graeme has scored his first ProTour point of the season, and after Monday’s fall, the day is going well for Tom Leezer.” Team leader Frans Maassen saw enough to be optimistic for the rest of the tour. "Last year Graeme also came into his own halfway through the race. Our riders are getting into their stride, you could see this today. It’s going to be fine from here."

No chance for Brown, Weening sick

For the Rabobank team, the third day of the Tour Down Under was not their best to date. The team had to deal with a setback right at the start. Pieter Weening (photo) reported in sick at breakfast. Feeling weak and listless, Weening decided not to ride out this morning. As a result, the Rabobank team did not play a significant role in today’s lively race. The final run was too much for the sprinters, therefore also for Graeme Brown, who came in at sixteenth place. Manuel Cardoso won today’s stage.

Even so, the team was very hopeful of success at the start. “The boys were counting on André Greipel not being able to accomplish much in the sprint, and Graeme’s success in that.” Team leader Frans Maassen saw all of the sprinters founder in the last kilometre, including his trump card Brown.  “Once you see who can finish the race by themselves, then everyone knows enough. This was not a finish for sprinters."

According to the team leader, Pieter Weening’s absence did not play a big role today. “It is a shame for Pieter, because this could have been his day. He could have tested himself. The top ten in the general classification was within reach and then you become someone to watch.” Weening stated at breakfast that he was not feeling well. The tour doctor gave permission to ride, but at the start the Frisian felt weak and listless, so participation was pointless.

The race seemed to be going well into the final stage. The finish was at the top of a two-kilometre climb and the Rabobank team train came through the first part with no problems. Tom Leezer and Jos van Emden guided Brown to the front, but a kilometre from the end Leezer could no longer follow. At 500 metres Lance Armstrong broke away, but Van Emden counter-attacked valiantly – so valiantly in fact, that Graeme Brown also had to pass. As a result big names such as world champion Cadel Evans and Vuelta winner Alejandro Valverde were in with a chance to win. However, Portuguese champion Manuel Cardoso surprised pretty much everyone.

Long breakaway for Clement, Brown third

For the Rabobank team, Friday, the fourth day of the Tour Down Under turned out to be their best so far. Stef Clement pretty much stole the show in a long breakaway and Graeme Brown (left in the photo beside Greipel) eventually came third in the sprint, so the team can be reasonably satisfied, given the situation in Australia. Once again, little could be done about the supremacy of the Team High Road and sprinter André Greipel. The German won his third race of this week.

Because of the strong wind, the 150-kilometre long stage of Norwood to Goolwa was the most difficult until now. 47 riders fought for the prizes at the finish in Goolwa. Even Lance Armstrong and Alejandro Valverde missed that battle, as they broke down and pulled out of the peloton in the final ten kilometres because of the strong wind. The two top competitors finished in a small group that included Koos Moerenhout and they ultimately lost seventeen seconds.

Greipel reigns supreme
Once again, André Greipel’s powerful pedalling reigned supreme in the final sprint, even though the difference with the competition was less pronounced than in the first two days. Behind Greipel in was a case of mere millimetres. Also Graeme Brown, started off well by Jos van Emden and Tom Leezer, remained among the first riders. He lost second place by a hair (Robbie McEwen) and just managed to keep Gert Steegmans off the virtual podium.

In a breakaway that lasted 135 kilometres, Stef Clement was definitely the man of the day. Six riders, including Clement, got away immediately at the start, however, Team High Road din't give them any room. As a result, the difference constantly fluctuated around three minutes. The Rabobank rider was the only one to remain in the final, but was forced to surrender less than fifteen kilometres from the finish. His competitive drive earned him the prize of the most belligerent rider of the day.

Brown now fifth
In the meantime, Graeme Brown climbed to fifth place in the general classification. Team leader Frans Maassen once again considers the final classification. "Saturday will be the decider. Just like last year, we are going over Old Willunga Hill twice. Three kilometres and not to be underestimated." Normally this would be too much for Brown, but Maassen is sticking by last year, when the Australian held on until the very last minutes. "I am sure that Graeme's climbing has improved, so this is going to be exciting. We are quietly hoping for a good classification."

Brown Mission unsuccessful

The Rabobank team was not successful in keeping Graeme Brown close to the major contenders on Saturday’s fifth stage of the Tour Down Under. Even though the Australian sprinter was well surrounded by teammates Koos Moerenhout (photo) and Stef Clement on the last climb of Old Willunga Hill, he was unable to pull it off. Brown also dropped from the top of the classification that had been Saturday’s main objective. The stage was won by Luis Leon Sanchez, and André Greipel remained in the lead.

Saturday’s unsuccessful mission was disappointing for the Rabobank team, mainly because developments in the stage had initially fuelled hope that it would be a success. The first passage of the toughest climb in the race went well with Brown, while the tempo in the group was not exactly low at the time. Only Tom Leezer Of the Rabobank team was forced to fall behind, but he regained ground quickly.

'At the top, margin was doable'
Things went a little awry in the second climb. Stef Clement remained close to the team leader in this stage. Koos Moerenhout managed to push through to the front with the big names. "We had agreed on this. Koos would see how things were on the top. If the difference with Graeme was already considerable, he would push on, if not, he would wait." On the top of the hill, team leader Frans Maassen was still hoping, with a margin of just twenty seconds. "So Koos was waiting."

After the climb in front they pushed on to chase a group of 4 riders who had broken away early. Brown had support from Moerenhout and Clement, but in the chase for the sizeable peloton they found just one other 'ally', Gert Steegmans. "And that wasn't enough. I still hoped that Radioshack would have someone waiting, but that didn't happen. Immediately after the top in particular, it was still doable, but there weren't enough of us", Frans Maassen lamented.

Last chance
Sunday is the last stage, and the test will be twenty laps of 4.5 kilometres in the streets of Adelaide. Frans Maassen: "We continue to hope. But I have to concede that Team High Road and André Greipel are very, very strong here. It would be a pity to return home empty-handed though, but right now this applies for fifteen of the eighteen teams that started out in this race."

Brown up against superpowers in final race

The Rabobank team hopes of winning a stage in the Tour Down Under remained high until the very last metres of the race, but it wasn’t on the cards for Graeme Brown. He lost in Adelaide in the last sprint to two Team Sky riders. Chris Sutton came in first before his team mate Greg Henderson. André Greipel is the overall winner, and the German also won three stages. This is his second overall win, as Greipel was also victorious in 2008.

In the final sprint, Greipel's Team High Road took the day in a fairly relaxed manner, and this provided opportunities for the other sprinters, Brown included. He was now forced to recognise the superiority of the Team Sky block, who stormed the finish with four riders. Chris Sutton subsequently had a clear win, and Greg Henderson snatched second place from Brown by millimetres. 

"It's disappointing that it didn’t work. This was our chance." Team leader Frans Maassen didn't blame anyone in particular. "The team didn’t do at all badly today. We were active, and in the final sprint Graeme was better set up than in the other sprints this week. Tom Leezer stayed with him for a long time. But Team Sky still had four men two hundred metres from the finish, so no one else had a chance. Brown managed to get surprisingly close in the end, but Sutton won fair and square."

Maassen feels that not having a win does not put a damper on the race for his team. "Coming third twice. Yes well, it's not what we had been hoping for. We came to win a stage and maybe even a good classification for Pieter Weening, Koos Moerenhout or Stef Clement. Those three dropped out due to circumstances and unfortunately Graeme had no success this time either. It's a pity, because I think he is in good shape. But a sombre feeling now? No, absolutely not. This was a really great race. We didn’t win a stage, but we certainly had a great time."