Thomas Dekker will not ride the Dutch national championships this year, saying he finds it hard to fit the flat race into his preparations for the Tour de France, which follows shortly thereafter. "Nothing against the race organisers, but the flat course in Dinkelland just can't be worked in with my exploration of the Tour stages, which I will do that month," the Rabobank rider told sportweek.nl. "Moreover, the chance that I can win there is very small."
The 23 year-old said that he and his trainer Louis Delahaije would check out the Alpine stages June 3-5, before he rides the Tour de Suisse. After that race, he will explore the Pyrenees stages with team captain Denis Menchov, team director Erik Breukink and Delahaije.(SW)
