|
| Carlos sastre during his winning solo on Alpe d'Huez during this years Tour. (© Cyclingheroes) |
The last time the race was opened with a team time trial was in 2006, where Team CSC won the stage after which Carlos Sastre
wore the Golden Leader's Jersey for the first and only time in the Spanish captain's impressive career.
Sastre is also
captain this year and will be attempting to secure himself his sixth top-10 spot in the Vuelta. In 2000 he won the Mountain
Competition on his way to an overall eight place and during the last four years he's also been among the top-10. He was sixth
in 2004, second in 2005, fourth in 2006 and last year he took and impressive second place after having been on the attack
in almost all the mountain stages.
"I'm very happy with the route this year - It'll be a great Vuelta. There are some
tough mountain stages and a few tough ones in between as well so it should be interesting. I think the stages in Asturia might
be quite decisive. We have a very competent group of guys here even though there's only one rider from the Tour line-up. All
nine of us are top motivated and that's what counts. I might automatically be among the favorites because I won the Tour,
but some of the other guys and teams will also have to step up and claim responsibility in this race – especially Alberto
Contador, who's been preparing himself specifically for the Vuelta. I'm confident that we as a team will be able to put our
mark on this race," says Carlos Sastre.
This years Vuelta a Espana could be the last grand tour with CSC - Saxo Bank for the winner of this years edition of the
Tour de France. CSC - Saxo Bank's team manager Bjarne Riis told Belgian based website sporza.be: "Sastre is not the future
of our team." Riis continued: "Fabian Cancellara, the Schleck brothers and Chris-Anker Sörensen are [the future for CSC -
Saxo Bank, editor]."
"Just like Sastre they have performed so strong that we can't afford [financially, editor] the Spaniard anymore."
"But
that doesn't mean he can't count on the support of our team in the coming 3 weeks," Riis concluded.
According to insiders Sastre will join the new Cervelo squad in the next season. The current bike sponsor of CSC -
Saxo Bank will start there own team in 2009 under a Swiss license. Scott will be the new bike supplier of CSC - Saxo Bank
in 2009. The US bike manufacturer will no longer support the former Saunier Duval team (now Scott - American Beef) in 2009.
"As
usual we have a broad team with a lot of different strengths. Both Karsten Kroon and Alexandr Kolobnev are able to neutralize
breaks in all kinds of terrain and for the sprints in the first week we have Haedo and Matti. Then we have Volodymir Gustov,
Inigo Cuesta and Michael Blaudzun, who's jobs are to assist Carlos as much as possible and if Jurgen is as strong in the mountains
as last year he should be able to do well," says CSC Saxo Bank's sports director Scott Sunderland and sums up:
"There's
no doubt that our main goal is the podium in Madrid, but we also have some great opportunities along the way."
Apart
from winning the team time trial in 2006 the Danish team only has one single stage win in the Vuelta from 2005, where Nicki
Sørensen won, so more would be great.
The race will be the final Grand Tour for CSC - Saxo Bank's Michael Blaudzun,
who's had a great season so far, but who will be ending his career, when the season closes. It's possible that Vuelta a España
might even be his last ever race, but it hasn't been decided yet, whether he will be taking part in some of the October races
and the World Championships are also a possibility.
"Of course it'll be quite a strange experience for me. I'll be
nostalgic at times I'm sure, but I'm at peace with my decision and I've had time to get used to the idea since I made it during
last winter. But I'm looking forward to this race and I hope to be able to do well in both the first time trial and as helper
for Carlos along the way," says Blaudzun.
Join our forum and discuss the Vuelta Espana 2008
Back to:
Special Coverage Vuelta Espana 2008
Get news and updates of our live coverage calender and the latest information about our new project www.peloton.tv . Subscribe to our newsletter:
|
