Brown "not even close"

Rabobank is starting to wonder about sprinter Graeme Brown, who finished 19th in the mass sprint at the end of the Giro's stage 12. " As a sprinter you must make sure that you are the first rider to enter the final corner. Graeme was not even close," said directeur sportif Erik Breukink.

On the team's website, rabobank.nl, Breukink noted that, "Graeme could not protect his position up front. That was vital with all those curves at the end." Brown's best finish in the Giro was 14th, in stage nine.

He will have another chance into today's flat stage. "How we are dealing with Brown?" Breukink asked rhetorically. "Two guys support him and he will have to prove that he deserves more. We are also not going to participate in the pursuit. Self-explanatory, that responsibility lies on the shoulders of the four teams with the biggest favourites for the bunch sprint." He obviously no longer sees his Australian sprinter as one of the favourites.(SW)