Rabo have absolutely no freakin sense of irony. Here they have an on-form Juan Antonio Flecha, a/k/a the Spanish Flandrian. The race is the Brabantse Pijl, or "Brabant Arrow," and Flecha makes it in on the winning break. "Flecha" is Spanish for "arrow," according to Sherlock. Clearly there's something here that has to happen...
And Rabo spoil the whole matter by telling Flecha to work for, as Nick Nuyens said, a weaker Freire whose only value was in the sprint. OK, so they pulled it off, and Rabo's season is starting to take shape. But that doesn't mean I'm not bitter.
I really like Juan Flecha, which given my love sonnet to the Belgian races and Flecha's nationality transplant makes sense. He not only prefers these races, but he rides like a Man of the Classics, and apparently yesterday was no exception. Sadly, he isn't a top candidate for Fleche Wallon, another race which shares his name, though since Freire was in on the finish last year, Flecha can't be ruled out. Less sadly, Flecha is one of Rabo's men for Flanders (along with the reincarnation of Erik Dekker), and a win this Sunday would be really, really cool.