No cause for concern given by team...
Following several reports that 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre would take part in this year's edition of the race, Cervélo TestTeam has released a statement today to clarify that his participation is still undecided. The team said Sastre is still recovering from the crashes sustained during the Giro d’Italia last month, and will await the results of further medical examinations before making the final decision.
“Of course we are hoping that Carlos can ride the Tour de France, but his health is still our first priority,” explained the team's general manager Joop Alberda. “For a three-week Tour, a rider must be in top shape and we will definitively take no risk on the health of the athlete. We have to wait for the green light from our medical staff.”
The final results of Sastre’s medical analysis will be known later this week. There was no indication given that the team expects to find a problem that would prevent him from appearing at the start in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Expected to be on the list alongside Sastre in the official announcement later this week are 2009 green jersey winner Thor Hushovd and stage winner Heinrich Haussler.