26 year old Danish climbing talent should see more opportunities to ride for his own result next season
The Saxo Bank/SunGard training camp in Fuerteventura wrapped up on Thursday with a departure from riding, fun, and games. Chris Anker Sorensen described the final day on his excellent blog on the TV2 website as a serious affair: “a meeting with all six sports directors and Bjarne.”
The goal, as you would guess, was to nail down each rider’s schedule for the coming year, but it was also a chance to talk “about the past year and hopes for the coming season.”
The 26 year old climber is pleased with his schedule for next season.
“I start out in Mallorca in mid-February, before that, we will have a little less than two weeks at training camp on the same island in late January. After Mallorca, the battles begin with many race days, including Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya.”
The early season racing extravaganza will all be done with an eye at the Dane’s first high point of the season, the Ardennes Classics.
“I will spend the early part of the year in preparation for the spring’s major goals, the Ardennes Classics. I hope to be in really good shape and deliver. Liege-Bastogne-Liege stands out especially as something special. For me, I’m aiming for a top ten, and once you are there, there is not such a long way to the podium.”
Unlike in 2010, Sorensen will not race the Giro d’Italia, where he took a great stage win on the Terminillo last year. Instead, he’ll ease off the racing throttle a bit in favor of training, before kicking into high gear ahead of the Tour de France.
“After the Ardennes, I will have a month more or less without racing, where I can relax a little, but obviously train hard. It is important to occasionally do some specific training. In addition, it’s good to give the head a break every now and then and get away from all the stress of the races.”
At the end of May, Sorensen will get back into racing with first the Bayern Rundfahrt and then the Tour de Suisse. The Tour de Suisse will be a chance for Sorensen to get free rein and hopefully pull off a result, but without coming into form too early, as the Tour de France is the most important race of all for Sorensen and his Saxo Bank team.
“In Switzerland, I would like to try and see if I can show something, but I’m planning to peak a few weeks later in July at the Tour de France.”
While the official Tour de France team has been by no means selected at this point, Sorensen is on the long list, and barring accident or injury, should count on a spot in next July’s Grand Boucle.
Following the Tour de France, there is still a lot of racing to go for Sorensen, namely focused on the Post Danmark Rundt, the Vuelta a Espana, and the season ending Italian Classics.
As a Danish rider, the Post Danmark Rundt is a rare chance to race at home at a very high level.
“I am really looking forward to it again. For a Dane, it is great to race the Tour of Denmark, although I do not think I can win it. My time trial is not good enough. So I hope that one of my teammates can, Richie Porte, for example. I even want to see if I can win the [extremely difficult] stage to Vejle. It has been a long time since I’ve won anything on Danish soil.”
For Sorensen, the Vuelta should be his big opportunity for 2011. He’ll race the Vuelta with no team obligations, just a chance to show himself in a Grand Tour.
“I am allowed my own race at the Vuelta. I’m not sure if I’ll go for the GC, the mountains jersey, or a stage. I have not quite decided yet. It may also be that the final decision is not made until the race, a bit like last year’s Giro, where Richie suddenly got the opportunity, when he went away in a large group and got a lot of minutes.”
Following the Vuelta, Sorensen is not sure if he’ll be taking part in next fall’s Danish World Championships. He admits that he’d very much like to take part, but the sprinter focus on the race might see him out of the final selection by Danish national coach, Lars Bonde.
“I would obviously love to race the World Championships on Danish soil. Conversely, I can understand if Lars Bonde does not select me. The route is for the sprinters. However, there is a long time between now and then, so we’ll see.”
After a very full season, the Dauphine stage winner in 2008 has one last fling on his agenda: the Italian Classics.
“I hope that next year, we can do better than this year, now that I hope to be spared from jetlag and illness. The GP Emillia is a great race for me, so I very much hope that I can win there someday.”
The ever improving Saxo Bank rider should see more and more opportunities come his way, especially if Alberto Contador is sanctioned for his clenbuterol positive at last year’s Tour de France. While it would be a huge loss for the team to not be able to enjoy the services of Contador, it would open the door wide for a continually improving, great talent like Chris Anker Sorensen. He’ll certainly have a large number of races to allow for possibilities to shine in 2011.