Cervélo Test team has confirmed that Carlos Sastre will be at the start of the Tour de France in Rotterdam, The Netherlands on July 3rd. For months there has been much speculation as to whether the 2008 race winner would contest this year's event. Sastre recently finished a disappointing 8th in the Giro d'Italia largely due to bad luck with crashes.
The Spaniard has no races on his schedule for the run up to the Tour de France, which means he will also skip his national championships. Sastre only raced the Volta a Cataluña and Liège-Bastogne-Liège before taking part in the Italian Grand Tour. He missed the first two Ardennes Classics due to the volcanic eruption grounding flights from Spain to northern Europe.
Before the start of the Giro d'Italia he said he was fresh both mentally and physically. Sastre admitted he started last year's Tour de France exhausted, which is what led to an eight month break from competition. He finished the Tour in sixteenth place while riding as defending champion.
Following one of the most difficult Grand Tours in years, Sastre could very well come good for July in the mountains, although he acknowledges the competition for yellow is fierce.
"Now with riders like Contador or Andy Schleck, they will make it very difficult for me," he told europapress.es last month when contemplating the Tour start. "You have to be realistic and intelligent to compete. I am 35 years old and I need to choose races where I can do well."
It will be curious to see whether the former Tour winner will change his aim towards stage wins or possibly focus on the King of the Mountains jersey.