Carlos Sastre was one of the many that left the Netherlands a little worse for wear following the Giro's three day foray on Dutch soil. Sastre lost time in each of the first three stages: 25 seconds in the opening time trial, 37 seconds in Stage 2, and 46 seconds in Stage 3. He now sits 43rd overall, 1:40 behind Maglia Rosa, Alexandre Vinokourov, heading into Wednesday's 33 km team time trial from Savigliano to Cuneo.
Sastre was quick to admit that the early rest day was much appreciated due to the rigors both during the race and after in Holland: "The rest day has been a chance to recover from the long journey we had yesterday after the stage, firstly in the bus and then on the plane, followed by a dinner that had been prepared for us in the airport by the entire community of the city, and it was nearly one in the morning when we arrived at the hotel."
Sastre conceded that he is suffering from his crash on Sunday, but is confident that he's recovering and improving each day: "The masseurs gave me massages today. The internal pains caused by my fall on Sunday are worsening every day. I think that I'm slowly recovering and that motivates me for the coming stages of this Italian Giro.”
Sastre and his Cervelo TestTeam teammates took time to check out Wednesday's team time trial later in the afternoon on Tuesday, but only after a long night's sleep: "We made the most of the morning to sleep as much as possible to make up for those lost hours and the tiredness from the trip. It did me the world of good."
Last year's Giro double stage winner unsurprisingly feels that the fast, untechnical course will suit the teams that specialize in the discipline: "It is a really powerful route in which the strong, all-rounded, and well-organized teams will have guarantees of an important win."
For Carlos Sastre, tomorrow will be a day to concede as little time as possible, and, if all goes well, put some time into some of his rivals. Stage 4's team time trial will be followed by three more days of nervous racing, including Stage 7's dirt road sectors, before he's allowed to spread his wings on the race's first mountaintop finish in Stage 8's climb up the Monte Terminillo.