An interview with Carlos Sastre

Effort, dedication and professional accomplishment

Entering his eighth season as a professional, Carlos Sastre Candil, whose initials "CSC" are the same as his team name, is maturing as a rider. With already one Tour de France stage win to his credit and several top 10 GC finishes, Sastre will be a valuable ally for Ivan Basso this July, as Cyclingnews' Hernan Alvarez Macias reports.

Winning one stage in the Tour de France is something that many riders desire, but very few are able to achieve. In the second exclusive group there is Carlos Sastre (Team CSC) after his victory in the 13 stage (Toulouse-Domaines) of the 2003 Tour. He prevailed that time in the Pyrenees over big stars like Jan Ullrich, Haimar Zubeldia and Lance Armstrong, who were second, third and forth in Domaines. Besides that, he was among the top ten riders in the last few Vueltas a España.

Sastre's father Victor was very influential in Sastre's sporting career. He taught Carlos the main values for succeeding in cycling. The Spanish rider seems to know how to progress, as his own website (www.carlossastre.com) opens with the words, "effort, dedication and professional accomplishment."

When Cyclingnews caught up with Carlos Sastre, he was in Florence, in the Toscana region training with CSC. By coincidence his initials are the same as his team name: Carlos Sastre Candil. Apart from that, he feels very comfortable in the Danish squad. Together with Ivan Basso they will fight on the front line of the three Grand Tours.

Cyclingnews: How did you start the year?

Carlos Sastre: So far the whole team is here in our training camp in Italy for ten days more or less. My goals are further on in the year and what I want to do now is a good training base to have a good peak later in the Belgian classics: Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Tour of Romandy. And then I will rest a little bit and prepare for the Tour de France, which is my greatest goal.

Click here for the full interview