Vuelta: Chicken nuggets for Gesink as present

For a moment it looked like the final stage of the Vuelta had changed the final classification a little. Robert Gesink was ranked sixth in the official results in Madrid. This was because Joaquin Rodriguez had fallen in the final three kilometers. But with a spot shortly behind the top five, the Dutchman has every right to call this a fantastic tour.

That is also how the team management of the Rabo ProTeam feels about it. The final stage, which ended in a sprint and was won by the Dane Breschel, did not really matter anymore. "There is actually not really a point to the final stage. We just rode around, calmly for sixty kilometers and really fast for the final forty. But that is always nice for the riders and the staff: the end of the tour. The three weeks of top sports do not really end without a final stage. There was no champagne but there should have been, right?" reported Erik Dekker.

Theo Eltink sprinted to a nice twelfth place and Pedro Horillo finished thirteenth. "That was well done, they made a good attempt," said Dekker. Only one thing really mattered after the finish: going home as quickly as possible. "The guys are all still changing in the bus while we are already driving. We will be on the plain in ninety minutes. One goes to Amsterdam, the other goes to Dusseldorf, and yet another goes to Brussels. It all separates really quickly. Weird, huh?" But that is how it goes with all teams: quickly to the airport.

And how is Robert Gesink doing? "Right now he is glad that it is over. I think he feels quite relieved now. He is also very tired. He will probably think on Wednesday that he cannot possible perform during the world championships, but that will be better at the end of the week." The team had no time to celebrate the nice final ranking. "We did celebrate on Saturday. The pressure was off then." Does that mean he was given an extra festive desert? "He had nine chicken nuggets. That was his champagne. And we relaxed outside with a beer for a long time. Everyone is satisfied and happy."