RABOBANK’S MENCHOV WINS VUELTA A MURCIA
|
;setCaption(document.image_thumb); "Russian Denis Menchov takes overwall at Vuelta (Cor Vos photo)")
;setCaption(document.image_extra_one_thumb); "Brown takes two stage wins (Cor Vos photo)")
Team Rabobank dominates Spanish race with two stage wins and the overall
Russian Denis Menchov’s overall victory at the Vuelta a Murcia capped a dominant performance by Team Rabobank at the five-day Spanish stage race. In addition to the overall win by Menchov, Rabobank sprinter Graeme Brown took two stage victories.
Menchov, a two-time winner of the Vuelta a España, surged into the overall race lead on Saturday with a third-place finish in the decisive 156-kilometer Stage 4.
The Rabobank squad, riding their Giant TCR Advanced SL team bikes, protected Menchov’s 20-second lead in Sunday’s final stage and also managed to set Brown up for the stage victory. The Aussie beat Columbia-Highroad sprinter Greg Henderson to the line to win the final stage of the race, a hilly 142.5-kilometer trek from Santiago de la Ribera to Murcia.
The five-day Vuelta a Murcia features many of the top contenders for the upcoming Giro d’Italia. The complete Rabobank team roster for the Vuelta a Murcia included Menchov, Brown, Stef Clement, Laurens Ten Dam, Koos Moerenhout, Bauke Mollema, Tom Leezer and Pieter Weening.