Rabobank changes for Tour of Luxembourg

Thomas Dekker and Max van Heeswijk will not start the Tour of Luxembourg this Wednesday due to injury, according to reports on Rabobank’s website.

Thomas Dekker has been suffering with an irritation on a bone in his left leg for some time, and will begin treatment immediately; a fast recovery is expected. Dekker reacted last week to speculation about his involvement with Luigi Cecchini in his column for Dutch news site telesport.nl, stating that Cecchini writes his training programs and nothing more.

Dekker also pointed out that the recent admissions from riders involved with Cecchini, including Basso and Riis, had made it clear that their doping had nothing to do with Cecchini, and that he had not advised them to do so.

Dekker, who will be replaced by Jan Boven in the Tour of Luxembourg, will now focus on the Tour de Suisse and the national championships before his debut in the Tour de France.

Another Rabobank rider who will also miss the Tour of Luxembourg due to injury is Max van Heeswijk. Van Heeswijk has not fully recovered from deep lacerations and strain on the back of his left knee that he sustained in a crash in the Nacht van Hengelo. He will be replaced by Thorwald Veneberg.

The full roster of riders for the Tour of Luxembourg is Jan Boven, Thorwald Veneberg, Juan Antonio Flecha, Sébastian Langeveld, Kai Reus, Léon van Bon, Mathew Hayman and Rick Flens. Erik Dekker will be the director of the team.