Roadcycling.com talks with Carlos Sastre (Cervelo TestTeam) on the 2nd rest day of the 2010 Giro d'Italia.

How would you characterize the 2010 Giro d'Italia for you so far?

It's up and down from the start. It started with two crashes and different problems at important moments. I lost about 10 minutes right from the start. Then the stage to L'Aquila changed everything. I got into the breakaway and it gave me hope again in this Giro. Now I've lost time in these first two stages in the Dolomites, but I have survived. The GC is quite open. My back is feeling better and my condition is improving. I'm confident that anything is still possible for me.

How are you chances in the final week of the Giro?

I have the motivation needed for the final week. I am feeling good and the last week of a grand tour is always very good for me. I am an endurance man. We have two hard mountain stages coming up and this gives me a special motivation. Everything is possible in this Giro.

Who do you view as the final week's strongest candidates for the overall Giro podium?

Ivan Basso, Cadel Evans, Alexandre Vinokourov, Vincenzo Nibali and Michele Scarponi. Ivan is the strongest right now, and Evans is very close. Vino is always fighting. Maybe Nibali spent some energy in his stage victory Saturday that cost him Sunday. Scarponi has been very good so far, but he always seems to have a bad day.

Carlos Sastre (Cervelo TestTeam). Photo copyright Fotoreporter Sirotti.

How is your condition different in this year's Giro compared to last year's?

Last year I did enough racing to come into the Giro to be strong right from the beginning. This year, I had a big break and did fewer races before the Giro. I had a different preparation for this Giro. I said right at the beginning of the Giro that I was a little out of top condition, that I wanted to progress through the race, but I didn't count on having all the problems I had at the beginning of the race.

When you lost 10 minutes in the first half of the Giro, did you ever lose your motivation?

Never. I never threw in the towel, never lost the motivation to race. I had some really bad luck in the first week. The crashes came when I was in good positions, not when I was at the back of the peloton. There was nothing I could do. The crashes happened right in front of me. I always said the race finishes in Verona. It's a three-week race and a lot can happen in the last week. This Giro should be won by a strong man, but maybe a smart man can win it too.

How is the 2010 Giro d'Italia different than the 2009 Giro?

Every day has been like racing a spring classic. One day it was like the Paris-Roubaix, then Amstel Gold, then Liege-Bastogne-Liege. We will see what happens in the last week. There is something interesting every day. There is only one day, to Brescia, that is ‘tranquilo.' The climbs in the final week are better for me. The climbs over the weekend were more explosive. The coming stages suit me better.

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