Rabobank announced today they were very pleased with the 2007 Tour de France route, saying “The Tour remains the Tour, but on paper it does not look bad for us.” They listed the reduced number of flat stages in the begining of the race as a strong positive since it would mean fewer “risky sprint stages.” It will also give Rabobank (and other teams) an earlier understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of both teams and individual riders since the overall classification would be established sooner than in past years. Like CSC though, Robobank is also dissapointed to see the abscense of a team time trial; but they said ’07 route would allow them to add another climber to the roster, as well as bring one less support car.

Read