More Spanish races for Sastre

By Antonio J. Salmerón

Carlos Sastre (CSC) will be in San Francisco from January 30 to February 18, visiting with his team's sponsors and participating in a team training camp.

The CSC riders will work with their new bicycles, as well as relationship building with the newly signed riders for 2007. In this sense, the training program will be developed in an intensive way. "There will be two work groups, with different intensive levels, depending on his personal training programme from each one," Sastre commented to the press agency EFE.

What they have insured is good weather, since "the temperatures are rather high." In Sastre's opinion this one of the most positive things of this training camp in California since in the last days he has had to train in sub-zero (C°) at home, in Ávila, Spain. "In San Francisco, we will not have that problem."

"... I will not ride the three Grand Tours; one will be sufficient," said the Spanish climber. He added, "I do not feel that need for competitive excess that caused me to complete the three Grand Tours in 2006," although he recognised that, "at the end of last season, I managed the fatigue - so that I feel that I recovered well."

Unlike 2006, where he made debut in Paris-Nice, where he only competed in the Vuelta al País Vasco and the Clásica de Amorebieta during the first half of the season, this year he will participate in more Spanish races. He will start his calendar in the Clásica de Almeria (March 4), and, if the Vuelta a Murcia will not take place, Sastre will be in the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, and will return to the Vuelta al País Vasco and the Clásica de Amorebieta, before confronting Flèche-Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

"I will be ready for the Basque race, in which I always do well. The last year, I won in Amorebieta," Sastre commented. "I will race in the Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse in preparation for the Tour de France," he concluded.