Will make move in the mountains
Carlos Sastre likes the mountains, so the first week in the Giro, with Dutch flat and windy terrain and a team time trial, was never going to be his favorite. He is already down on race leader Vincenzo Nibali by over two minutes, but remains upbeat.
Sastre draws hope from the team time trial, which his Cervélo TestTeam ended in sixth place today, 38 seconds down on Nibali’s Liquigas-Doimo team. “The team did a sensational job,” Sastre said after the stage.
The Spaniard sees the positive side, which was making up 43 seconds on Cadel Evans, 1’46 on Michele Scarponi and 2’01 on Stefano Garzelli, some of the main rivals in the battle for the overall crown.
“This team time trial has been a very positive result for us. To finish sixth with the same time as Astana, especially in a time trial like today’s, has been very important for us,” Sastre explained. After losing time in the Dutch wind, Sastre was happy his team and he could do well in the team time trial. “We have made up time that we had lost against some important riders,” Sastre said.
The Cervélo leader praised all his teammates after the half-hour effort. “It goes to show how important it is to be well organized and have a motivated team. This has really helped towards the result, for us to make up time, and above all, to get ahead of other important riders in the lead up to the rest of this year’s Giro,” Sastre said.
Having Ivan Basso two minutes ahead of Sastre could turn out to be a problem for the Spaniard, but there are still plenty of mountains to cross. One thing is for sure, this Giro won’t be dull, with already four lead changes in as many days.