Luis León Sánchez (Rabobank) has barely finished the season with the Tour of Beijing, but is already deep in preparation for 2012. He will be leading the Rabobank team in the Tour Down Under in January.
The countdown for the Australian tour has begun for Sánchez. "I like to start the season quickly because in Murcia it doesn't rain a lot and the climate is palatable for training," he said in an interview to Biciciclismo. "I started with the gym and the bike, and I will also do swimming - the typical stuff in the preparation phase."
The late end to the season with the Tour of Beijing wasn't planned. "The team was racing three-fold, with Paris-Tours and the Italian classics as well. They needed all the riders available, as there were some injured ones. They made me go, but it wasn't a hard race and I did not end it tired."
Sánchez said it is hard to not train in this part of Spain (Southeast) as the weather is so good. He barely took a break. "The first ride was with Alejandro [Valverde] and Fran Pérez,and more than anything it was to take a cup of coffee." He is slowly building it up. "I continue - but without any obligations - to maintain and increase the mileage and the intensity, with the intention to arrive well and do the best in Australia, but without obsession."
Sánchez has a good record at the Tour Down under, having won in 2005 and finishing second in 2006 and 2010. But he won't be stressing out over it. "The idea is to achieve a good rhythm for competition and a good point for the start in Europe," he said.
The Spaniard admitted that the switch to a Dutch team was difficult, but that things will be better in 2012. "Since Lombardia, we had a little camp, to set the tone for next season. I feel better integrated. The past year was different - I changed teams, after always being in Spanish teams, where everything was easier."
Sánchez said the change to a different culture was tough. "I didn't feel isolated, no. But I felt off-center. I didn't understand the language, I had to quickly pick up English and to connect [with the people]." He was helped by various circumstances. "At least I was lucky that there were other Spanish riders [Oscar Freire, Carlos Barredo and Juan Manuel Garate -ed.]. [Team Director] Erik Breukink also speaks Spanish."
He had underestimated the task at hand. "I thought it would be easier and it became more difficult when I didn't get any results." His first win came in June with the Spanish time trial championships and he finally pleased his Rabobank squad with the stage 9 victory in the Tour de France. "There was a little bit of anxiety until I started winning."
The situation was difficult for the usually positively minded Spaniard. "I felt lost, I couldn't find my space." But the team helped him to relax when he didn't win. "They told me to take it easy. We did an altitude camp in the Sierra Nevada and then in the Tour I obtained the victory at the right moment."
He is now looking forward to the team duties. "I will travel to the Netherlands December 6 because the presentation is on the seventh." A camp will then be held in Fuerteventura from December 8-15. He thinks his schedule will be mostly as in the past, with Paris-Nice and the classics, then the Tour de France. "I also like the Vuelta a País Vasco. The Vuelta a España will depend on how I finish the Tour."
But he does hold a special wish for next summer. "I would love to do the Olympics. If it pleases you to represent your country at the Worlds then imagine the Olympics! I will be the happiest guy on earth if I will be in London. I have a tremendous hope." The timing may not suit some riders, less than a week after the finish of the Tour de France. "After the Tour I have always been going well, which I showed when I won the Clásica San Sebastián in 2010 and where I am always close," Sánchez said.
Because Sánchez starts his season early he is usually too tired for the Worlds. This year he didn't go. "We decided to give an opportunity to the younger riders." The Olympics schedule is better for Sánchez. "In August and after the Tour, it is much more feasible."
He will fight hard for a spot on the team. "It is something special," he said about the opportunity. He also hopes that the team around national coach Luis De Santos values his past performances for the Spanish team. "I am lucky that I know De Santos since the junior selection teams. I have a lot of confidence in him and we talk once in a while." But a decision has not been made. "I will fight to be on the team."