The 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre believes that his former team-mates Andy and Frank Schleck will be under pressure in this year’s race, and that this could hamper their bid to beat Alberto Contador.
“Andy has been the closest rival of Alberto and this year he has not done anything important and his team is in need of victories,” he said. “[They are] very nervous riders and because of that, they make many errors.” He feels that this is compounded by the fact that they have left Bjarne Riis for Leopard Trek, and will lack his guidance. “Riis has learned a lot over the years and has enough experience to handle the race with guarantees and calmness,” he said.
Rather than Leopard Trek, he said that RadioShack is “the most direct rival of Alberto and his team. Brajkovic is much more relaxed, has experience in Grand Tours and may be an important rider. Furthermore, RadioShack has prepared really well for the race and they have riders with experience like Klöden and Leipheimer.”
Sastre is missing the race for the first time in many years due to the fact that his Geox-TMC team has not been invited. He rode the Giro d’Italia and with his form showing improvement in the recent Giro di Slovenia, he will now build towards the Vuelta a España. He will be doing expert analysis for the RTVE national Spanish radio and television website during the Tour.
He’s clear on who he believes is the main favourite. “Alberto is above the others, although this year a lot of riders come to the race with encouraging performances. That will make victory more difficult for Alberto.”
Of those riders, he names Jurgen Van den Broeck, and also Ivan Basso and Samuel Sanchez. He said that the latter two have prepared very well for the race and are set to ride well.