In the absence of the usual team leader Alejandro Valverde, the Caisse d’Epargne team heads into the Tour de France a little less certain of success than before. Former Paris-Nice winner Luis León Sanchez will fill Valverde’s shoes, but it remains to be seen if he can content for a top ten finish in a Grand Tour.
Stage wins will clearly be an important target for the Spanish run, French-backed team, which is set to lose its title sponsor at the end of the season. There are rumours that the bank Santander might be poised to step in, with other rumours linking Alberto Contador to a move to the renamed squad in 2011, but either way a strong Tour is a must.
Another who will represent the team’s chief hopes is Jose Iván Gutiérrez. The 33 year old has ridden the race six times, but usually in the service of others. He considers this to be the first time he will go there specifically with a goal of chasing a victory.
“Everybody in the team will have the possibility to try and win a stage,” he said. “We will go with the breakaways to take advantage of the opportunities. It is in fact the first time that I really plan to win a stage in the Tour.
He’ll seize his chance whenever it arises, believing it is more likely that will occur once everything has settled down. “The first stages in the Netherlands and in Belgium will be very nervous ones. I believe it will be necessary to be patient because later on it will for sure be easier to try and win a nice stage. ”
Gutiérrez is a four-time Spanish national time trial champion and last week took his second road race crown. He’ll thus get to wear that jersey again in the Tour de France, having first done so nine years ago. That’s something which he confesses really psyches him.
“After the year 2001 when I was in team ONCE, this is the second time I have the opportunity to ride in the Tour de France with the Spanish champion jersey on my shoulders”, he explained.
“Thanks to that title I will be more motivated than ever to start the Tour de France. I’m also very proud to wear the Spanish colours, even if that jersey won’t change my manner of racing. Of course people will recognize me more easily but I will do exactly the same job as usual. I will do my best to do everything my team expects me to do.”
Sanchez and Gutiérrez will be joined by compatriots Imanol Erviti Ollo, Ruben Plaza Molina and Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil, Frenchmen Christophe Moreau and Mathieu Perget, as well as the Portuguese rider Rui Alberto Faria da Costa and Vasili Kiryienka of Belarus.
Gutiérrez is one of the most senior riders and will also play a guiding role. “I have a lot of experience in this race and I will try to help the younger riders who still lack that experience. Because Alejandro Valverde is not there, Luis León Sánchez, the strongest rider of the team, will be our leader. It won’t be easy but we shall try to make so that the pressure is not too big for him.”