Denis Menchov and Carlos Sastre not the only leaders at Geox-TMC
Joxean Matxin Fernandez, team manager of Geox-TMC, has said he is considering several riders to captain his team at next season's Grand Tour events.
Geox-TMC have secured the services of Rabobank's Denis Menchov and the Cervelo TestTeam's Carlos Sastre, both experienced Grand Tour riders, for next season.
Menchov has one Giro d'Italia and two Vuelta a Espana titles to his name, while Sastre won the general classification in the 2008 Tour de France.
While the Spaniard will be eager to make a bid for the 2011 Tour, he could also opt to prioiritize all three Grand Tours during next season, according to Fernandez.
"I talked to both [Sastre and Menchov] after the presentation of the Tour and we are considering the possibility that [Sastre] can participate in the three Grand Tours, which is complicated but [he] has done it before and knows how to deal with it," the
manager told Spanish website ESPN Desportess. "I think the Giro and Tour combination is perfectly adaptable to the characteristics of [Menchov]," he added.
David Blanco could assume leadership role
It has been assumed that Sastre and Menchov, Geox-TMC's two veteran riders, would share the captaincy of the team in 2011, but Fernandez has now suggested he is considering another rider, David Blanco, to lead the team for parts of next season.
Fernandez recently traveled to Mexico with the 35-year-old, who has won the last three editions of the Volta a Portugal.
"This trip to Mexico has given me the opportunity to get to know [Blanco] much more on another level, I was pleasantly surprised by the vision he has, how professional he is and the seriousness of his goals. He's the kind of rider who sacrifices himself
for what he wants and works really hard and the final result always comes."
Tags: