The final victory in the Giro d'Italia was definitely going to be for Danilo di Luca. The Rabo ProTeam realized after Michael Rasmussen's attack had just failed on Friday, that the spell surrounding the first stage victory in the Italian race would again not be broken in 2007. Both assumptions proved correct. Di Luca deserved every bit of the pink jersey. The Rabo team earned respect mainly through their offensive style or riding during the incredibly tough second part of the Giro. "After we lost our sprinters, we had to look for a new strategy," admitted team leader Adri van Houwelingen. "The guys that remained have executed their assignments perfectly. The team was ambitious in every stage, which deserves respect."

The Rabo team also put out all stops in the tough mountain stages. Michael Rasmussen and Mauricio Ardila demonstrated their skills. Rasmussen was active in nearly all the stages of the final week. Even though the Dane came close to claiming the stage victory on Friday, it still turned out to be an impossible mission.  Van Houwelingen was very clear about Rasmussen: "The best Giro of his career. Knowing that this is a preparation for the Tour, it is admirable that he went on the attack on a daily basis during the final week. He is getting into shape. Of course this does not guarantee that he will repeat or even improve his 2006 Tour performance. But, it is very gratifying to see that things went relatively easy here." Rasmussen will not compete in any other stage races before the start of the Tour.

Ardilla ill
For many outsiders, Mauricio Ardila was again the 'major disappointment' within the team. In spite his active role in two mountain stages, he was again not able to perform up to his maximum ability. Van Houwelingen had a plausible explanation for the disappointing ranking of the small climber. "Our team doctor Geert Leinders is surprised that Mauricio finished the Giro. He caught a severe cold, and many cyclists would have dropped out. We would not have blamed him for that. The fact that he did go on the attack without any serious chance for a good result shows his good attitude. The guy really wants to give it his all every time, but unfortunately things often just do not go his way. Like in this tour."

The other four who finished the Giro were also praised by the team leaders. Van Houwelingen on the four riders:

William Walker
"He rode particularly well during the first part of the stage. When we entered the decisive week, things became a little more difficult for William. He is completely exhausted now. But, when I compare this with the tough time he had in the Vuelta last year, he has improved a lot."

Dmitriy Kozontchuk
"Dmitriy also used up the last ounce of his energy. One could tell that it was his debut in a major tour. With a few highlights along the way. But Walker is, for instance, a much more developed rider in the professional peloton than Kozontchuk."

Pedro Horrillo
"Perdo was one of the most important victims of the major crash at the start of the tour. He suffered from a very annoying back injury and it looked as if he was going to drop out. What goes for Ardila, goes for him too. Many others would have abandoned the race. Somewhat inconspicuous, but he still manages to easily 'digest' such a tour."

Koos Moerenhout
"Koos was clearly the best and most ambitious of our three veterans. He never ran into problems during the final week. He had a strong performance in final time trial. The way he competed during the last week, that is how it should be. That is why we added him to the team."

Setback
The largest setback was our failing group of sprinters. "Our biggest ambition this tour was to win a stage. We had a very good set of riders to accomplish this with Graeme Brown, Max van Heeswijk, and Léon van Bon, and with additional support from Pedro Horrillo. But, it never really led to the desired result," admitted Van Houwelingen. "Of course we quickly lost Brown due to illness. That is a shame, because a couple of top-ten rankings would have been possible. There were, however, numerous other opportunities after that, but we never really used them, also because of the problems Max van Heeswijk experienced with his bronchial tubes. When Léon van Bon abandoned the tour, we knew we could just forget about our chances in the sprint."

Does the mood of disappointment still prevail? Van Houwelingen: "Of course we are not happy that we did not won a stage, because then the Giro would have been very successful. We had opportunities to do this with the initial team that we lined up. Later on, we did not have as many opportunities, but the team performed well. The six remaining riders had the most active role in the Giro for the Rabo team in years. We were not anonymous. I tried to make sure that the riders would use their ambitions and that went well. They were a strong collective."

What about Van Houwelingen himself? Did he enjoy his Giro debut. "It is a wonderful tour with heroic mountain stages and fierce competition. It was great that I got to experience all that. If they ask me now whether I would want to return here again next year, I would immediately say yes." And then smiling: "But we do take Robert Gesink with us."