Sastre confirms Giro push, still undecided on Tour

Carlos Sastre confirmed he’s eyeing overall victory at the Giro d’Italia as one of his top goals for the 2010 season, but remains uncommitted regarding his plans for the Tour de France.

The 2008 Tour champ won two stages in last year’s Giro and that’s only whetted his appetite to make a push for outright victory in the season’s first grand tour, but he still hasn’t decided on the Tour.

“I want to arrive at the Giro in conditions to challenge for it. I really enjoyed last year in Italy and I want to repeat the experience,” Sastre said Saturday. “Right now, I am going to focus on the Giro. We are going to go step by step and there’ll be time to think about it in longer term.”

Sastre traveled from his home in Ávila, Spain, to join his Cervélo TestTeam teammates in southern Portugal for a two-week training camp to click his 2010 campaign into season.

“We are going to be there two week and we’ll take advantage to intensify the training,” he said. “When the weather hasn’t been good in Ávila, I’ve been hitting the gym and doing Pilates. When I cannot ride on the road, I go on the mountain bike. It’s been enough to maintain the muscle tone and burn the little bit of fat from the recent holidays.”

Sastre won’t race until the Volta a Catalunya, which has been moved from May to March. After that, he’s only revealed that he will race Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège before the Giro, though more racing could be added to his calendar.

“This year I’ll start a little later than the past few seasons,” he said. “That will allow me to arrive more toned to the first races.”