Vuelta: Gesink puts up a fight but bows to Valverde

With a ninth place in the concluding time trial of the Vuelta, Robert Gesink can look back at his first major tour with great contentment. His intermediate times and final time were good, even after three weeks of immense suffering in the Spanish land. He will need to live with a seventh instead of a fifth place in the final ranking. "He was good and did his utmost best," said team leader Erik Dekker.

"This was a very realistic scenario. He rides a good time trial but loses two places," said Dekker. But, he does not believe that it will bother Gesink too much. "We knew beforehand that it was going to be close. He competed well in the front ranks for three weeks and then even records a fine time trial in the final week. For one's feelings, a fifth or seventh place should not make too much of a difference."

Levi Leipheimer won the time trial, but the Rabo ProTeam was only occupied with Gesink's final time. "For us it was a race between three riders," said Dekker. He particularly aims at direct competitors for fifth place in the final classification Valverde and Rodriguez. The Spaniards both won some time vis-à-vis the Rabo-rider. Therefore they respectively moved up to place five and six in the ranking.

A minor celebration is well-deserved according to Dekker. "The tour is history now. We still need to cover some kilometers, but there will not be any changes to the final classification, disregarding things like illness and crashes. Everyone is incredibly delighted and very proud. It is good that the tension for those guys will ease a little bit. Perhaps Juan Antonio Flecha or Pedro Horrillo could still try something in the final stage on Sunday."

What is at stake tomorrow in the climb time trial is the top-five ranking from Robert Gesink. "It is going to be five six or seven. I know he is going to do well. But he has to be really good to hold on to the fifth place," according to Dekker.