With just over two months to go until the New Year and the official start of his time with the Geox-TMC team, Carlos Sastre has said that he expects a strong working relationship with the team’s other leader, Denis Menchov. The Spaniard is heading to the squad from the Cervélo Test Team, while Menchov is transferring from Rabobank. Both have won Grand Tours in the past; however, Sastre doesn’t expect a clash.
“We’ve always had a very good relationship. It can be one hundred percent complementary,” he told Efe, underlining that there is no suggestion that the presence of one will make things more difficult for the other.
“He is strong against the clock and does well in the mountains. I, perhaps, am more explosive in the mountains and aggressive while racing, so together we will complement each other and be stronger.”
Sastre took the 2008 Tour de France with a daring attack on Alpe d’Huez and has also finished second overall in the Vuelta a España and third in the Giro d’Italia. Menchov has won two Vueltas and one Giro, and netted third in this year’s Tour. However, unlike Sastre, the 32 year old makes a large part of his differences in the time trials.
Having more than one leader on a team can greatly complicate things, as was seen with Contador and Armstrong in 2009, Roche and Visentini in 1987 and Hinault and LeMond one year earlier. However, strength in numbers can also improve the chances of victory, as Sastre himself can bear witness to.
His then-Saxo Bank team-mate Frank Schleck was leading the 2008 Tour when the Spaniard went clear on Alpe d’Huez. The general classification situation caused the other contenders to focus more on the Luxembourg rider, handing Sastre more room to maneuver than he might otherwise have had. As a result he gained enough time to win the stage and seize the jersey.
As was the case this season, Sastre is not committing to saying which races he will actually do in 2011. “I’m not ruling anything out, but I still don’t know what I will do,” he said. “I’m very tired, but when you recover you see things differently.”
Prior to leaving the Cervélo Test Team, he hinted that he was frustrated with the way things were done there. The Geoz-TMC team is evolving out of the current Footon-Servetto squad, which was in turn based on the Saunier Duval setup. Because of that history, he suggests that things will run more smoothly.
“I’ve enthusiasm and am much calmer,” he answered, when asked how he felt about things heading towards his next squad. “It’s a team that is already there, and only the sponsor has changed. You have very experienced people and that gives much comfort.”