RABOBANK RIDING HIGH ON TWO CONTINENTS

Posthuma leads Ruta del Sol in Spain, Gesink is Best Young Rider
midway through Tour of California

Competing in two different stage races on two continents this week, Team Rabobank continued to shine in 2009.

In Europe, Dutch rider Joost Posthuma seized control of the 55th Ruta del Sol, a traditional early-season stage race in Spain, on Stage 1 and held his advantage at the midway point of the five-day race. Meanwhile, at the star-studded Amgen Tour of California, Rabobank’s GC leader Robert Gesink sat 10th overall, just 39 seconds back after three rain-soaked days of racing in the U.S.

Posthuma, a 27-year-old with strong time-trialing abilities, finished second in the Ruta del Sol’s opening 7.3-kilometer time trial on February 15 while riding a prototype Giant time trial bike. He took over the race lead the following day by finishing in the front group on the 169-kilometer Stage 1 road race from La Guardia to Humilladero.

Posthuma maintained his lead through Stage 2, with two stages left to go before the finish of Ruta del Sol in Antequerra, Spain, on February 19.


Strong Team Effort in California
The opening stages of the Amgen Tour of California were plagued by horrendous weather. Heavy rain, cold and wind battered riders in the opening stages held in and around California’s San Francisco Bay area.

Aggressive racing by his Rabobank teammates kept Gesink in the hunt for the overall as the nine-day race began to head south toward its eventual finish near San Diego. Rabobank riders Stef Clement and Grischa Niermann, riding their Giant TCR Advanced SL team bikes, joined a long breakaway on Stage 2 from Sausalito to Santa Cruz, allowing Gesink to ride in the safety of the main field on a brutally cold, rainy day.

Gesink, winner of the Best Young Rider category at the 2008-2009 editions of the Tour of California, stayed near the front of the field and again took the lead in the Best Young Rider category after Stage 2. He sat tenth overall at that point, just 39 seconds behind race leader Levi Leipheimer of Team Astana.

This year’s Tour of California concludes Sunday, February 22, when the race travels south to San Diego County for the first time and tackles the tough 12-mile Palomar Mountain climb.