”Patience.” That is what South Africa’s Robbie Hunter asks of his fans for the duration of the Tour de France.
Hunter, captain of team Barloworld, has been inundated with questions from fans who want to know why Barloworld has not already been in a breakaway and why he does not have his team around him to lead him out at the finish.
On his website on Wednesday, Hunter had the following answers.
”Well, as for me at the finishes, I like to do my own thing and follow other riders, much like Robbie McEwen. If by chance I should have a teammate there in the last kilometre, I will follow him, but he has to be there.
”Some people say I have to have more support around me, but then again you cannot expect climbers to get involved in a bunch sprint. QuickStep have so many riders in the front because more than half the team is made up around Tom Boonen. They only have one pure climber. In our team we have got more climbers and, trust me, they will be there when the time is right.
”As far as breakaways are concerned, be patient. There is no point in sending riders into the breaks just to waste their legs. We will try and get into breaks when the chances are better of getting a break to the finish.
”And about me and sprinting, some people forget this is my sixth Tour and not my first.
”We deserve to be here because we are among the best in the world and we will get results, just be patient; it is a three-week the tour.
”Lastly, I know I’m not the fastest guy in the world, but on a good day when my condition is good, like now, I think I am good enough to beat anyone. I have been winning races since my first year as a professional and in some of the biggest races, I finished ahead of guys like McEwen and Boonen,” Hunter wrote.
Meanwhile, Swiss Fabian Cancellara of the CSC team retained the leader’s yellow jersey when he won the 236,5km third stage of the Tour de France from Waregem and Compiegne on Tuesday.
Cancellara out-sprinted second-placed German Erik Zabel of the Milram team. — Sapa, Reuters