Gesink looks for home in Girona, Spain

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Robert Gesink has started to search for an apartment in Girona, Spain as he looks to establish a second European training base. The Rabobank rider hopes a move to the city north of Barcelona will allow him to improve his climbing skills in the nearby Pyrenees.

“I want a place for myself where I can go and where I can train,” he told the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. “A place of my own, so that I don't have to sit in a hotel, so I can cook for myself or that my girlfriend can do it.

The terrain close to the Catalan city will also provide a distinct advantage over the Dutchman's native country. “If I can find a place in Spain then I hope to develop my climing even further; I hope to become stronger there.”

The 23-year-old Dutch rider ought to have no problem finding training partners. It is particularly popular among American riders, as George Hincapie and Levi Leipheimer both have houses there, and Garmin-Slipstream uses the city as its European base.