Klöden recovering

By Susan Westemeyer

Andreas Klöden didn't get off to a good start in his first season with the new Team Astana - health problems held him back at the team's Majorca training camp in January. In order to make up for lost time, he returned to the island for three weeks of additional training along with teammate Matthias Kessler. They were also joined by Danilo Hondo for part of the time.

The slender German was finally able to open his season at the Volta ao Algarve in Portugal. "The race was very demanding; at times and there were some long stages," said Klöden on his website, andreas-kloeden.com. "In five days we rode nearly 1000 kilometres. Perfect conditions to work on the basic training."

Bad weather at his home has sent him to southern Switzerland, where he is again training with Kessler. Klöden's next test will be Tirreno-Adriatico, starting on March 14. "I hope that everything goes perfectly and that I can use Tirreno to continue building up my condition for the Tour de France," he concluded.