Carlos Saste is planning a very different run-up to the Giro d’Italia this year, and will seek to be at his sharpest in the Italian event via some intensive racing beforehand.
Twelve months ago the Spaniard competed just eight days before lining out in the Grand Tour. At the time, he explained that he was worn out after mentally- and physically-demanding seasons, and that he simply need to take his foot off the gas pedal for a while. The fact that he was hoping to ride the Tour de France as well meant that he didn’t want to have done too much prior to the Giro.
He ended up finishing eighth overall, with best stage placings of third, sixth and eight.
This time round, with the Tour not on the agenda for the Geox TMC team, it’s all systems go for the Giro. He plans on racing a lot prior to the start and hopes that will put him back in the same sort of shape that earned him two stage wins plus third overall in 2009.
Sastre is aware that some will feel that he is taking on too much in the lead up to the start on May 7th. “It’s obvious that I’m never going to be able to please everyone,” he admitted. “For some, this year might seem like a lot of days of competing; for others, perhaps not enough, because they want riders who are committed to getting results in a big race like the Giro to get results beforehand...
“This has never been my priority, I take into account how I feel at the end of every training session and competition, and that is what tells me if I am in top form or if I'm not, and ultimately I guide myself by how I'm feeling. Therefore, speculation will always be out there, but I’m not going to give it any importance. For different reasons, this year I’m doing this trip together: Volta, Basque Country and Castilla-León practically without a break.
“Last year I didn’t compete in these, but the circumstances are completely different now. This is how I've prepared it this time, I’m going with this mentality and after the Vuelta a Castilla y León, I will have almost three weeks to keep on training and improving before the Italian Giro.”
Sastre has had a quiet season thus far, making his debut in the Vuelta a Murcia, where he was 91st. More recently, he rode the Volta a Catalunya and finished back in 148th place, although a cold picked up prior to the race diminished his condition. Like Geox-TMC co-leader Denis Menchov, he was below par and anonymous due to illness.
A decent showing on a stage or two would have undoubtedly boosted his morale, but he maintains that he’s feeling fine about how the race went. “The Volta has been very positive because on most days, we've had great weather and that helped me to get better,” he said. “I'm still not fully recovered from the cold, because it was actually worse than what I had initially thought, but I have been feeling better day by day and gradually getting in better shape. I have a week between the Volta and the Vuelta al País Vasco and I hope to be able to progress some more from now on.”
Need to balance recovery and racing:
Sastre’s result show that until this point of the season, he hasn’t been close to taking any podium positions. He explained that as he gets older, he has had to have more intensive rest periods as his recovery is not as it was in the past. He said that this means it is more difficult when he gets back on his bike, requiring him to work hard to return to racing shape, but that he believes it is best for him at this point of his career.
All going to plan, he’ll be in peak condition for the Giro. However the fact that Menchov, a past winner of the race, is also targeting a strong performance there means that there will be a situation where one could end up working for the other.
Sastre plays down any suggestions that this could lead to problems, insisting that things would work out fine in that situation.
“I’ve been in this sport for a long time and I think Denis is a great rider who has achieved great things in his sporting career. We are of course both here to try and do our best,” he said. “I think we have a goal, which is the Geox team, and from there, I think the race will give us opportunities so that we can both have a chance of getting results. The only thing we have to do is to play our cards right so that these chances are within our reach and on our side.”