Dane says aiming for Giro and Tour GC is too difficult
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Chris Anker Sørensen (Saxo Bank) on his way to the stage win.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Saxo Bank rider Chris Anker Sörensen finished well down the standings
Daniel Moreno (2nd, Caisse d'Epargne), Chris Anker Sørensen (1st, Saxo Bank) and Ivan Santaromita (3rd, Liquigas) (Image credit: AFP)
Chris Anker Sørensen (Saxo Bank-SunGard) has announced that he will target the Giro d’Italia king of the mountains classification in 2011. The Dane also said that he believes that it is impossible to target a high overall placing in both the Giro and the Tour de France.
“I’ll do the Giro where I will try to ride for the climber’s jersey and certain stages,” Sørensen told feltet.dk. “I’d love to ride it again like this year, because it’s a race that suits me well.”
At the 2010 Giro, Sørensen triumphed atop the Terminillo and he is determined to taste victory again on Italian roads next May. However, given that he is likely to be a key element of Bjarne Riis’ Tour de France line-up, Sørensen will not be looking to defend a position in the general classification.
“I’m not going to ride for the overall because my time trial abilities aren’t good enough,” he said. “It would be better to go there to try and win some stages, so it’s better to save my energy on certain days in order to go on the attack afterwards.”
After the Giro, Sørensen will head to the Tour, although his role at that race will not be defined until his new leader Alberto Contador’s status is clarified. In any case, he maintains that riding the two races is something of a balancing act.
“I think that if you ride for the general classification at the Giro, it’s then too hard at the Tour,” he explained.
While Sørensen will be looking to reach form ahead of the Ardennes classics, his main single-day objective arrives at the end of the season. With the world championships taking place in Copenhagen, the Dane will not be lacking in motivation next autumn.
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“I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “It’s fantastic to be able to ride the Worlds in Denmark. There’s nothing bigger, even if the route isn’t ideal for me."
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Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
