Cyclingpost.com - Denis Menchov riding for Tour top 10

Denis Menchov riding for Tour top 10

By Andreas V. Jøhnke
Thu, 13 Jan 2005 14:18:00

Denis Menchov was born on 25-01-1978 in Orel, Russia. This strong Russian measures 1,78cm and weighs 67kg and has improved his climbing skills from mediocre to very good over the last years. Menchov turned pro with the spanish team Banesto (Now Illes Balears) in 2000, and has gotten 10 wins since. His biggest achievements must be his 4th place overall in the Under 25 Tour de France 2001, 11th overall in the Tour de France 2003 and stage wins in Paris-Nice and Dauphiné Libere. Victorylist: TOUR DE L'AVENIR (2.5) 6-15 September (2001) YOUNG RIDERS COMPETITION: MIDI LIBRE (2.1) 22-26 May (2002) STAGE 2 IN DAUPHINE LIBERE (2.HC) 11 June (2002) CLASICA LOS PUERTOS GUADARRAMA (1.3) 24 August (2003) BEST YOUNG RIDER: TOUR DE FRANCE (GT) 5-27 July (2003) VUELTA AL PAIS VASCO (2.HC) 5-9 April (2004) STAGE 5 IN VUELTA A ESPANA (GT) 8 September (2004) STAGE 4 IN VUELTA AL PAIS VASCO (2.HC) 8 April (2004) STAGE 6 IN PARIS - NICE (2.HC) 12 March (2004) STAGE 1 IN VUELTA A ARAGON (2.2) 14 April (2004) Menchov's real breakthrough is yet to come and this year it will happen, if the critics are right. Rabobank snapped up the strong Russian rider in 2005 and he is their man for Tour de France: "A top 5 place is what we hope," Rabobank said. The full Rabobank presentation: Country: Holland Cycle Brand: Colnago Manager: Theo de Rooy Team Managers: Erik Breukink, Frans Maassen, Adri van Houwelingen, Joop Zoetemelk. Riders in 2005: Michael Boogerd (Ned) Jan Boven (Ned) Bram de Groot (Ned) Steven de Jongh (Ned) Erik Dekker (Ned) Thomas Dekker (Ned) Maarten den Bakker (Ned) Theo Eltink (Ned) Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Mathew Hayman (Aus) Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Spa) Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Karsten Kroon (Ned) Gerben Löwik (Ned) Denis Menchov (Rus) Ronald Mutsaars (Ned) Grischa Niermann (Ger) Joost Posthuma (Ned) Michael Rasmussen (Den) Niels Scheuneman (Ned) Roy Sentjens (Bel) Rory Sutherland (Aus) Jukka Vastaranta (Fin) Thorwald Veneberg (Ned) Marc Wauters (Bel) Pieter Weening (Ned) Remmert Wielinga (Ned)