Rabobank's Dauphiné prologue

Team Rabobank "failed to play a prominent role in the prologue to the Dauphiné Libéré," as the team's website, rabobank.nl, delicately put it. But team leader Erik Breukink wasn't too upset with the prologue results, since most of the riders are aiming more for the upcoming mountain stages. "The boys cycling here will definitely get a chance in the coming days."

One who might have been expected to do well in the 4.2-kilometre race was Marc De Maar but he "began suffering from both stomach and intestinal complaints on Saturday evening and they persisted on Sunday." De Maar finished about 35 seconds down, 140th out of 149 riders. "That was, despite being ill, still nine seconds better than (last-place finisher) Leonardo Piepoli who was one the Giro's defining cyclists," the website added optimistically.

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