RABOBANK’S MENCHOV WINS VUELTA A MURCIA

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 Neal 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.