The Spanish media has reported that Cervélo TestTeam’s Carlos Sastre has decided to skip this year’s Tour de France. The Spaniard finally won the race in 2008 with Bjarne Riis’ CSC Team, but has decided his best chances for success next season lie in Italy and back home in Spain.
“The Giro will be my main focus next year. It is a race for the climbers so it suits me. I will then set my focus on the Vuelta. I want to be a serious contender for general classification in both races. And the Tour? I’ve already won that race, so it’s not as important,” said the 34-year-old.
Sastre is going back on his previous statement that would have the former Tour winner wait to see the Vuelta route before any of his race program decisions were final.
His absence from the Tour would leave Sastre’s Cervélo TestTeam open to focus solely on sprinter Thor Hushovd’s chances for another green jersey. Sprint king Mark Cavendish dreams of arriving in Paris in the maillot vert, and the Spaniard’s decision could help ensure that the points competition will stay interesting.