Sastre encouraged after GP Miguel Indurain

Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre is happy with his preparation for next month's Giro d'Italia. The Spaniard raced the GP Miguel Indurain on Saturday.

"I think I'm on track for my goal, which is the Giro d'Italia. The truth is that I had my doubts going into it because it was the first tough race of the year," said Sastre.

Sastre finished the race in 26th place, 1:04 behind the winner. "It was a very demanding race, with 11 or 12 hard sections. The wind made it difficult to find a place in the peloton. In fact, the entire race, the group was breaking down slowly, until there were just 30 riders left by the final climb. It was like a small Liège-Bastogne-Liège."

Sastre goes into the Vuelta al País Vasco very motivated. "In the GP Miguel Indurain, I was with the best at all times and this encourages me. The Vuelta al País Vasco is hard and beautiful, which will no doubt help me get oriented for the Classics and for the Giro."