Riis will not replace Basso

Team CSC Manager confirmed that there will be no new rider to replace Italian Ivan Basso, and that he will give his faith to Spaniard Carlos Sastre. Riis and Basso parted ways in October, leaving CSC without a big classification rider but Riis noted to Danish newspaper B.T., "I don't want to spend more money than what has already been laid out."

Riis, the 1996 Tour de France champion, will rely on his current talented crop of riders. "Also because I have a deep respect for the 2006 achievements of Carlos Sastre," said Riis. "He will be our leader, while Fränk Schleck is a man of the future."

The 31 year-old Spaniard finished fourth in this year's Tour de France, but Riis said "it will be more difficult" to win La Grand Boucle without Basso. But he added that "there is life beyond the Tour."

Riis then noted the team's "four aces." The team manager continued, "Other than Sastre and Schleck, we also have [Fabian] Cancellara and [Jens] Voigt." There will be an addition of two more cyclists to CSC for the next season to create a "mixture of talent and experience," but Riis denied the rumoured negations with Alberto Contador or Luis León Sánchez.