Olympic champion Sanchez predicts surprises in Tour of Spain
29/8/2008 17:24
The Olympic road race champion Samuel Sanchez said yesterday that he
believes this year's Tour of Spain (Vuelta de Espana) will be packed with
surprises.
The three-week race, which begins this weekend after several years
in apparent decline, promises to have an improved profile thanks to the presence
of two big names.
This year's race will be boosted by the presence of Tour de
France winner Carlos Sastre, while the winner of the Giro de Italia Alberto
Contador is the favorite to complete a Spanish- Italian double at the head of
the powerful Astana team.
Contador, who won the 2007 Tour de France, will
also be out to prove a point following Astana's exclusion from this year as a
result of last year's doping scandals.
Nevertheless, speaking in Marca,
Sanchez said he didn't believe the race would be a battle between the
two.
"There are always surprises and there will be people who have their
chance and who know this is the last chance they have to do something this
season," he said, hinting that some of Contador's teammates could provide a
challenge.
"They have (Levi) Leipheimer and (Andres) Klodden and there are
riders who have come in Madrid to win the Vuelta de Espana, who are going to
make it very hard for everyone," said Sanchez.
The Vuelta starts in Granada
on Saturday and finishes in Madrid on Sept. 21.
Xinhua
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