Chris Sørensen aims for 2010 Tour de France ride

Chris Anker Sørensen looks forward to his winter break after his win in the Japan Cup. His goal is to return even stronger for 2010 in order to help Saxo Bank teammate Andy Schleck at the 2010 Tour de France.

"My main objective is the Tour de France as I hope to get another chance in the line-up," he said in a team press release. "I expect to become even stronger so I can be an even greater help for Andy."

Denmark's Sørensen, 25, competed in his first Tour de France this season. He helped Schleck place second overall, 4'11" behind winner Alberto Contador.

"The Tour de France was a childhood dream come true for me and it was much bigger than I ever dreamed of. The number of spectators and especially the number of Danes, journalists and the fact that just a few weeks on the bike made me world famous was slightly surreal."

Sørensen had his chances to win in the 2009 season and came close several times. He placed fifth overall in the Tour du Haut Var and second in the national road championships. He finally succeeded in the last race of the season, the Japan Cup, October 25.

"The season has been great and full of amazing experiences, where I have helped teammates to great achievements. But there was still a large and gaping 0 next to 'number of victories' this season. So it was such a satisfying moment crossing the finish line in solitude."

Sørensen will meet Schleck and the rest of his teammates at a training camp next month. They will have time to talk about the season's experiences and look ahead to 2010.

His experiences at the Tour de France were captured by sports journalist, Dennis Ritter. Ritter wrote a book Debutantens dagbog ("Diary of a Debutant"), which will be released in two weeks, November 23.

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