Vuelta a Espana: Sastre v  Riis

Sometimes these Google translations just add confusion. Those interviews come out as pure gibberish.

CSC’s directeur sportif Scott Sunderland was playing down the Carlos Sastre comments in the Spanish press yesterday. There, he had said he was unhappy that Bjarne Riis didn’t put the strongest team together.

Sunderland told Cyclingnews that there was some misinterpretation. “The comments were taken out of context. What Sastre said was that it was a difficult race overall, also with all the news about the new Cervélo team.”

Sunderland indicated that Sastre would clear up the confusion soon. We will keep you posted.

    He might be trying to explain why he doesn’t have as good a chance of winning because his team isn’t as strong as the one that he rode with in the Tour. Imagine Lance trying to explain to the American press not winning if he didn’t have all the best horses on his team pulling him.

Sastre is clearly pissed. I just looked at the Marca article. He says: “Let’s get real. There’s one person who’s damaged and divided the team from the get-go. He’s still doing it, and this person didn’t want the team to do anything in the Vuelta, that was his intention, he’s done damage to everyone. Deep down, he knows it.” Then he says: “I have no problem with the team, with my teammates, they’ve done everything they possibly could, they’ve been in all the breakaways. You can overcome a lot, but in the end, the person who’s supposed to push really needs to push. That person, far from pushing, has done everything he could to shirk his responsibilities.” Then the journalist asks if he’s talking about Riis, and he says: “Well, he is the main director of the team, isn’t he?” (That last part is much better in Spanish, what he actually says is “máximo dirigente,” as though he were talking about a dictator! Might be some Spanish cycling terminology that I’m missing, but it sure sounds like a put-down. It’s definitely not directeur sportif, which would be director deportivo.)

a large part of his Tour win was based on team support. Even with a super strong team in the Vuelta the chances of him beating Contador were not in his favor. Riis is playing percentages too and trying to maximize his team’s chances in a variety of races. I think Carlos needs to cancel the pity party and just get on with things. They’re parting ways in a month, accept it and move on gracefully.