RABOBANK READIES FOR TOUR OF CALIFORNIA

The Rabobank Cycling Team heads to the United States this week for the Amgen Tour of California stage race. The nine-day race begins February 14 with a prologue in Sacramento, then travels south to its eventual finish in Escondido on February 22.

Boasting a strong lineup including three-time world champion Oscar Freire, as well as Robert Gesink, the two-time Tour of California Best Young Rider, Rabobank will be racing on their Giant TCR Advanced SL team bikes.

“I’m looking forward to returning to California and racing against a super-talented field,” said Freire, the team’s Spanish veteran who will focus on stage wins. “We have a really strong squad for this year’s race, including my teammate Robert Gesink. With some new faces, and our new Giant TCR Advanced SL team bikes, Rabobank is ready to go.”

This year’s Tour of California features its most talented field ever, including seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, who is racing in the U.S. for the first time after coming out of retirement.

“This year’s Amgen Tour of California is shaping up to be the most competitive one yet,” said Rabobank team manager Erik Breukink. “We’re looking forward to the race and have assembled a solid Rabobank squad that will be aggressive in both the sprints, with Freire, and the overall, with Gesink.”

Gesink, a 23-year-old Dutchman, won the hardest stage of the 2008 Tour of California after he broke away with American Levi Leipheimer on the Sierra Road climb near San Jose. That stage victory propelled Gesink toward his second consecutive Best Young Rider award at the Tour of California. This year Gesink, who also finished seventh at the 2008 Vuelta a España, will focus on the overall at the Tour of California.

This year’s Tour of California features several new stage routes, including Stage 2 from Sausalito to Santa Cruz, which will pass over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and a new Stage 4 from Merced to Clovis. This year’s Tour also travels south to San Diego County for the first time, where the final-day Stage 8 will include the tough 12-mile Palomar Mountain climb.

The full Rabobank team for this year’s Tour of California includes: Mauricio Ardila (Spain), Stef Clement (The Netherlands), Oscar Freire (Spain), Robert Gesink (The Netherlands), Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Spain), Bauke Mollema (The Netherlands), Grischa Niermann (Germany) and Pieter Weening (The Netherlands).