Samuel Sánchez will be back at the Tour de France only for the third time in his career, so he’s looking to make up for lost time.

His two previous Tour starts, in 2002 and 2003, both ended early when he missed time cuts. Since then, Sánchez has grown in stature both as a rider and as a team leader.

Despite riding into third overall at last year’s Vuelta a España, “Samu” has no pretensions about riding for GC in the Tour. He’ll leave that task to Euskaltel-Euskadi teammates Haimar Zubeldia and Mikel Astarloza, who finished fifth and ninth last year, respectively.

Sánchez, 30, has been quiet this spring, notching his lone victory of the season with the time trial stage at the Vuelta a Asturias. He skipped both the Vuelta al País Vasco and the spring classics because he’s betting everything on this summer.

After the Tour, he’ll be mining for gold in Beijing and then hang up the cleats for the year. No Vuelta and no world championship.

VeloNews caught up with Sánchez ahead of the Tour

VeloNews: How did the Dauphiné go for you in your final race before the Tour?

Sanchez has taken a thoughtful approach to the 2008 season and isn't planning on over-doing it.

Photo: Andrew Hood

Samuel Sánchez: The Dauphiné was the last race I was doing before the Tour (45th overall). We had some good results and wanted to have some strong showing in the race, and we did that. We were hoping for a stage victory, but the most important thing was to refine the condition. I was perhaps a little more tranquilo, but more than anything I want to arrive in good conditions to Brest for the start of the Tour. The plan is to be three days in the Alps for a training camp and then to home to rest a little bit, putting on the finishing touch on the form.

VN: What are your goals going into this year’s Tour?

SS: I did it three or four years ago, but it wasn’t a good experience for me, so I am working hard as if it’s the first time to the Tour for me. I’m considering myself a rookie in the Tour and I hoping to the best I can. More than anything, I am going to try to win a stage for the team. The last time we won a stage was with Iban Mayo in Alpe d’Huez (in 2003), and the team’s been close since then, but hasn’t been able to close the deal. So, above all, I’d love to win one for the team. We have people for the GC who are going to do very well.

VN: Despite earning Euskaltel’s first grand tour podium at last year’s Vuelta, you’re not thinking at all about the GC?

SS: Well, we have riders like Zubeldia and Astarloza who have more experience than me in the Tour. They’ve already proven they can do well, so the team will be working for them. I’ve done well in the Vuelta, but the Tour is something else. You need that extra touch of experience to do well in the Tour. I am going into the race more tranquilo in terms of the GC. That’s not my first obsession in this Tour.

VN: Does the team believe it can reach the podium with one of those two?

SS: The podium is going to be complicated. Of course, that’s our goal, but we have to be realistic and wait how the race develops. Riders like Cadel Evans, Denis Menchov, Valverde, Sastre, there are people who have a lot of quality and who make things complicated for a rider from Euskaltel-Euskadi to stand on the podium in Paris. We’ll do the best we can.

VN: What’s your ideal scenario for you to win a stage at the Tour?

SS: It’s one thing to set goals before the Tour, it’s something else to make it happen. You have to be patient and wait for the right opportunity. Whether it’s a smaller, reduced group, an escape in a medium mountain stage, who knows, there are a lot of chances. You have to take them.

VN: After the Tour, the Olympics are you next big goal?

SS: Nothing’s guaranteed yet. I am still fighting to try to get a place for the Games. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to do something important in the Olympics. I’ve demonstrated I can ride well in the world championships and I’d love to be able to go to Beijing. We have five riders. This year, it looks like I have a good chance to go.

VN: After the Olympics, then you reload for the Vuelta and worlds?

SS: Neither! After the Tour and the Olympics, vacation. I won’t race the Vuelta this year or the worlds, even though I might be racing a few races after the Olympics, but I’m taking the final part of the season without any pressure at all. It was a big change this year, to focus everything on the Tour and the Olympic Games. We’re betting everything on being at the best possible condition during this important window. Then for the rest of the year, I will take it relatively easy to recover and then come back next year with guns a blazing.

VN: You also skipped the spring classics and the Basque tour, did you have some health problems earlier this year?

SS: This year we decided to change things a little bit, so I didn’t race the spring classics. I didn’t have any type of health problems, it was just as I said before, put a big focus on the Tour and the Olympics, and then take the rest of the season with a little less intensity. Last year was very intense for me. I want to build on the success, but I don’t want to overdo it as well. I want to be in the best-possible form for the Tour.

Euskaltel-Euskadi for the Tour de France
Haimar Zubeldia (Sp)
Samuel Sánchez (Sp)
Mikel Astarloza (Sp)
Rubén Pérez (Sp)
Gorka Verdugo (Sp)
Iñaki Isasi (Sp)
Egoi Martínez (Sp)
Amets Txurruka (Sp)
Juanjo Oroz (Sp)