Carlos Sastre (Geox-TMC) lost 2'26 on today's flat time trial in the Tour of Austria to winner Bert Grabsch, but moved up from fourth to third in the overall. Sastre went past Mauro Santambrogio, who conceded 4'11 to the winner.
Sastre fought hard over the 30.1-kilometer course along the Neusiedler lake. The Spaniard is more of a climber, but was motivated the improve on his fourth place he held at the start."I am very content with the result. Moving up one place in the overall is important," he said after his ride in 35 degrees Celsius temperatures.
Sastre had a top three on mind when the Tour started a week ago. "Finishing on the podium is something that entered my mind the day I decided to come here." There is only the final day to race. "With only one day remaining I managed to get to that place," a satisfied Sastre noted.
The lake is a favorite for windsurfers. "The wind was practically blowing from all directions," Sastre described the difficult conditions. He was the fourth-to-last rider to go. "As it happens, the later it became the windier it got." The 2008 Tour de France has shown resilience in the past. "This time trial was really hard, because you could never let up," he said. "There was no place where you could recover a bit, that meant you had to go at your limit at all times throughout the race."
There is no hiding in the race of the truth. "You never feel great when you are going all out, but knowing how to suffer and staying ahead of your rivals is important."
After an anonymous season so far, with a 30th place overall in the Giro d'Italia, Sastre has gained his first really good result for 2011.