Carlos Sastre’s preparations to defend his Tour de France are going into high gear this week as the Spaniard travels to Frace to familiarize himself with some of the key mountain stages.
His quiet early season had put the Cervelo TestTeam rider’s condition into question, but the 2008 Tour winner answered doubters by winning two mountain stages in last month’s Giro d’Italia.
Sastre said on his website, “I don’t know all of the climbs, so I will go (to France) to learn them.”
The big question is whether the he will attempt to ride all three Grand Tours this year. The Vuelta, Sastre’s home Tour, takes place in late August but it’s uncommon to see a cyclist with overall aspirations compete in all three races. “At the end of this week I decide whether I will start in the Vuelta,” said Sastre.