Cruz recovers from illness

Tony Cruz is recovering from a nasty sinus infection after the Tour of Qatar as he readies for the Tour of California.

"I'm actually feeling a lot better," said Cruz on the BMC website www.bmcracingteam.com. "I saw a doctor on Monday who gave me some antibiotics. They said it was a sinus infection, but it has really affected everything else, so it has been chest congestion along with the head cold symptoms. I have been really fatigued too. Maybe that's the worst thing, especially when you are trying to train for an event. But I have ridden the past two days and am feeling a lot better."

Cruz, who made the move from Team Discovery Channel last year, will be aiming for a stage win. "There are two or three really good opportunities for sprinters," he said. "We could look to the Santa Rosa finish, or Sacramento, and to win in Pasadena would of course be great. And I like climbing a lot, so even the stages that have hard climbs I can hope to place well in. I have won a lot of races by being one of the strong sprinters who makes it over the hills in the first group."

The team will be working for Alex Moos in the general classification. "He is climbing really well and has been reconnoitring the stages these past several weeks," said Cruz. "I think the key stage for the GC will come on the run into San José, so we will certainly be working to keep Alex in position on that day."