Yesterdays Amstel Curaçao Race was the final race of Dutch rider Erik Dekker. Dekker, who started to work as a sports director for the Dutch Rabobank squad won many races in his career, like for instance the classic races Classica San Sebastian (2000), Amstel Gold Race (2001, he also won the overall of the Worldcup competition in that year), Paris-Tours (2004), the general classification of Tirreno-Adriatico (2002) and 4 Tour de France stages. Dekker also was Dutch national road champion (2004) and a two times national champion individual time trial (2000 and 2002).  

Dekker started the decisive attack during yesterdays Amstel Curaçao Race but overall pro-Tour winner Alejandro Valverde and Fränk Schleck were able to follow Dekkers wheel and outsprinted Dekker in his last race.

Dekker didn't show any emotion after the race and told Dutch daily newspaper De Telegraaf: "I wouldn't have been more emotional if i had won," Dekker said: "I have decided a long time ago to stop. I am already an ambitious sports director." Dekker started as a sports director for Rabobank during this years Eneco-Tour and since than he has an UCI sports director license. Dekker concluded: " I would have been the first non-pro rider who would recieve the price money. I traveled mostly to Curaçao to make a holiday and during the course you are concentrating on the race, so i didn't feel anything special on the last meters."