Rabobank leader scores Best Young Rider win at Tirreno-Adriatico stage race

Excelling on tough climbs, avoiding crashes and surviving miserable weather, Rabobank’s Robert Gesink emerged as the Best Young Rider at the March 10-16 Tirreno-Adriatico stage race in Italy. Gesink, Rabobank’s 23-year-old up-and-coming star, finished fifth overall, 27 seconds behind race winner Stefano Garzelli of Italy.

This year’s seven-day Tirreno-Adriatico, known as “The Race of the Two Seas,” opened with three sprint stages, but it was the marathon Stage 4, a grueling six-and-a-half hour, 243-kilometer race from San Gemini to Chieti that saw the top overall riders emerge. Gesink rode brilliantly, powering up the final climb on his Giant TCR Advanced SL team bike to a seventh-place stage finish.

That Stage 4 performance put Gesink second in the Young Rider classification, 3 seconds behind Colombian Rigoberto Uran.

Gesink excelled again on Stage 4, which had to be shortened due to snow blocking some of the route. With more steep climbs on the 216-kilometer route from Chieti to Colmurano, Gesink finished sixth and took over the white jersey of the Best Young Rider. He went on to defend that lead over the final two days, moving up a couple spots to end the race fifth overall on General Classification.