It’s too early to say the Vuelta a España has lost an overall contender, but Carlos Sastre is certainly facing a mammoth fight back if he still has designs on winning this race.
The Spaniard cracked on today’s fourth state to Valdepeñas de Jaén, being unable to keep up with a key group of favourites on the Alto de Valdepeñas climb. He eventually crossed the line 25th, one minute 34 seconds behind the day’s winner Igor Anton (Euskaltel Euskadi), and dropped to a distant 22nd.
With a deficit of two minutes 15 seconds to Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma Lotto), his race is far from over; however, he faces an uphill battle go get back into contention with the other race favourites.
“I’m not at my best at the moment,” he admitted after the stage, while also vowing to keep on. “I am still feeling enthusiastic and that motivates me to keep fighting on every day, even though I can see that there are a lot of people who have come to the race feeling a lot fresher than myself.”
Wednesday’s stage is on far flatter terrain and a bunch gallop is one possible outcome. Riders like Mark Cavendish (HTC Columbia) and stage two winner Yauheni Hutarovich will be salivating at the prospect after two tough stages in the mountains, and this should give Sastre the chance for an easier few hours.
“Tomorrow will be a slightly quieter day,” he predicted. “From thereon in we will be back in hard terrain with steep slopes and some excitement at the end of the stage. That is what is making this race spectacular in every sense.”
Sastre has previously finished second, second, third, fourth and fifth in the Vuelta and would love to finally top the podium, as he did at the 2008 Tour de France. However riding the Giro d’Italia and the Tour has complicated things, and he is more fatigued than he had anticipated.
“When I decided to compete in the Vuelta a España, I knew that my decision to ride in three big tours in one season was a difficult challenge. Especially in a year in which, for various reasons, I have been on an awkward footing with falls, setbacks and medical problems”.
However he said that he planned to keep on fighting as always. This race is quite possibly his last with the Cervélo Test Team and he wants to wind up his time there in style before switching his focus to a fresh start with Team Geox.
Cervélo sport director Philippe Mauduit is not panicking yet, saying that the main issue is that the parcours was not ideal for him. “These kind of explosive finishes are not so good for Carlos. He likes longer, steadier climbs and this finish today was one for the uphill sprinters,” he explained. “You had to be in the top-10 position going into the final approach to have a chance.”
Although the Spaniard did not fare well, his compatriot Xavier Tondo had a better showing. He moved up to seventh overall by finishing 19 seconds back today, crossing the line in 15th place. If things continue in this way, he will become the likely GC leader in the squad.
“I saw the stage two weeks ago, because I was training nearby in the mountains at Sierra Nevada. Some riders advised me that it was very, very steep,” he said. “Luckily, I knew the road. It’s not the kind of climb that’s good for me, but I was still able to finish close to the favourites. I am feeling good for the Vuelta. I only have a few days of racing, so I hope to get better and better each day. Let’s see what happens.”