Spanish stage race specialist Carlos Sastre may be shifting focus next season, changing his usual Tour de France/Vuelta a España racing programme to also ride the Giro d'Italia, which could see him skip the Spanish Grand Tour. As the Tour de France will be the CSC rider's main goal in 2008, team management is yet to decide if Sastre needs to include the Giro in his season schedule in order to improve his preparation for the big event in July.
"Carlos needs to participate in more races to be in top form," CSC team manager Bjarne Riis told Danish newspaper BT. "With that objective, the Giro is the best preparation for the Tour." Sastre has been a regular podium finisher in both the Tour and the Vuelta these past two years (he finished fourth in both Grand Tours in 2006, second in the Vuelta and fourth in the Tour this season) and is therefore a serious contender to overall victory. It remains to be seen if the Spaniard will replace the Vuelta with the Giro in 2008, as team staff will decide on the question soon.
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