No time trial nationals for Dekker

Rabobank's Thomas Dekker will not ride in the Netherlands national time trial championships next Wednesday in Zaltbommel. He had planned to participate, but while training on the time trial bike, he suffered again from hip problems that have plagued him for a long time. He will therefore skip the race, he said on his website, tdmagazine.nl.

Dekker is still scheduled to ride the Vattenfalls Cyclassics in Hamburg on August 19, and the Eneco Tour the following week. His hip problems arise only when he rides the time trial bike, because of the different position compared to the regular racing bike.

Dekker had won the national time trial title in 2005 and was a favourite in the race this year.