Tour de France for Samuel Sánchez

Olympic champion Samuel Sánchez has planned a completely different approach to the season next year, target week-long stage races and the Tour de France, rather than the emphasis he placed on the Classics, Vuelta and World Championships in 2009.

The 31-year-old Euskaltel-Euskadi captain finished fourth in Flèche Wallonne and was second overall in the Vuelta a España, but has decided to shake things up a bit and structure things differently.

“Last year the team talked amongst ourselves and we saw that the Vuelta a España had a course that pleased us. We also had a World Championships that was very hard,” a relaxed, friendly Sánchez told Cyclingnews on Tuesday evening. “I believe that the Vuelta España is the best preparation for the World Championships. That meant that we decided I should focus on the first part of the season and on the end of it, leaving out the Tour.

“This coming year, the aims will be different – I want to have a good early part of the season, and a good Tour de France. As for the Vuelta, I don’t know yet.”

Aside from trying something new and chasing a greater number of victories in 2010 – this season was characterised by near-misses in some very big events – Sánchez’s decision is also due to the parcours of the Worlds in Geelong, Australia.

“I think it is going to be a World Championship for sprinters,” he said, explaining why preparation for that race won’t shape his season like it did this year. “For riders like myself, it will be more difficult to win one like that. We’ll have to see.”