Carlos Sastre facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Carlos Sastre

Sastre at the 2010 Tour de France
Personal information
Full name	Carlos Sastre Candil
Born	(1975-04-22) 22 April 1975 (age 50) Leganés, Spain
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	61 kg (134 lb; 9 st 8 lb)
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-rounder
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France General classification (2008) Mountains classification (2008) 3 individual stages (2003, 2006, 2008) Giro d'Italia 2 individual stages (2009) 1 TTT stage (2006) Vuelta a España Mountains classification (2000) 1 TTT stage (2006)

Carlos Sastre Candil (born 22 April 1975) is a former Spanish professional road bicycle racer. He is famous for winning the 2008 Tour de France, one of the biggest cycling races in the world.

Carlos was known for doing very well in the Vuelta a España and the Tour de France. He was especially good at climbing hills and mountains on his bike. He also worked hard to improve his individual time trial skills, which helped him become a top contender in major races. Throughout his career, Carlos finished in the top ten in fifteen Grand Tours, which are long, multi-stage cycling races. He even reached the podium (top three) in each of them.

Many people consider Carlos Sastre one of the few "clean" riders to win the Tour de France during his time. This means he was never involved in any doping scandals. Because of this, the media sometimes called him "Don Limpio," which means "Mr. Clean" in Spanish.

Carlos Sastre's Early Life and Career

When Carlos was young, a professional cyclist named Francisco Ignacio San Román lived with his family for a while. Carlos's father was his first coach, helping him learn to ride and race until he became an amateur cyclist.

Starting as a Professional Rider

Carlos Sastre signed his first professional contract in 1997 with the ONCE team. For five years, he mostly worked as a domestique. A domestique is a teammate who helps the team leader, often by blocking wind or getting water bottles. Carlos didn't win many races during this time, but he showed how strong he was in the mountains. He even won the King of the Mountains competition in the 2000 Vuelta a España. This award goes to the best climber in the race.

In 2002, Carlos moved to the CSC team. Here, he became the team captain for the Vuelta a España. In the Tour de France, he had more freedom to race for himself. This led to his first big win in the Tour de France in 2003. He won Stage 13, crossing the finish line with a pacifier in his mouth as a special greeting to his baby daughter. He finished more than two minutes ahead of his team captain, Tyler Hamilton, in that stage.

Improving His Skills

Before the 2004 season, Carlos Sastre and his teammate Ivan Basso trained a lot to get better at individual time trials. These are races where cyclists ride alone against the clock. They even went to MIT's wind tunnel in Boston to practice. This training helped Carlos improve his performance in the Vuelta a España, where he finished 6th overall. He also placed 8th in the 2004 Tour de France.

Carlos Sastre during a time trial at the 2005 Tour de France.

In the 2005 Tour de France, Carlos again worked as a domestique for Ivan Basso, finishing 21st overall. However, as the captain for Team CSC in the 2005 Vuelta a España, Carlos finally reached the podium of a Grand Tour, finishing third. The original winner, Roberto Heras, was later disqualified, moving Carlos up to second place. After this success, he signed a new contract with Team CSC.

Highlights of Carlos Sastre's Career

2006: Riding All Three Grand Tours

In 2006, Carlos decided to ride all three Grand Tours: the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France, and the Vuelta a España. This is a rare and very tough challenge for any cyclist.

He rode the 2006 Giro d'Italia to help his teammate Ivan Basso win the race. Carlos's strong pace in the mountain stages helped Basso achieve his victory. Carlos finished 43rd in the Giro's overall standings.

Just before the 2006 Tour de France began, Ivan Basso was suspended from racing due to an investigation. This meant Carlos Sastre suddenly became the team captain for Team CSC in the Tour. Even though his main goal for the year was the Vuelta a España, this was a big chance for Carlos to show he could be a Tour de France winner. He proved to be one of the strongest climbers in the peloton (the main group of riders). He finished 3rd overall in the 2006 Tour de France after the original winner, Floyd Landis, was disqualified.

Later that year, Carlos finished 4th overall in the 2006 Vuelta a España. By completing all three Grand Tours in one year, he joined a small group of cyclists who have achieved this amazing feat.

2007: Close to Victory

In the 2007 Tour de France, Carlos Sastre finished 4th overall. He then achieved 2nd place overall in the 2007 Vuelta a España, showing his consistent strength in Grand Tours.

2008: Winning the Tour de France

Carlos Sastre entering Paris wearing the yellow jersey after winning the Tour de France.

When the 2008 Tour de France started, Carlos Sastre was considered one of the top riders who could win. He also had strong teammates, Andy Schleck and Fränk Schleck.

Carlos started the Tour quietly. He didn't have his best time trial at the beginning, and he rode carefully in the early mountain stages. This allowed his teammate Fränk Schleck to wear the yellow jersey (given to the overall race leader) after Stage 15.

However, on the very important Stage 17, Carlos showed his amazing climbing skills. He attacked at the bottom of the famous Alpe d'Huez climb. He finished the stage more than two minutes ahead of his closest rival, Cadel Evans. This powerful ride earned him both the stage win and the yellow jersey! Carlos knew he needed a good lead over Evans, who was a very strong time trialist.

Going into the final time trial, Carlos had a lead of 1 minute and 24 seconds over Fränk Schleck, and 1 minute and 34 seconds over Cadel Evans. Many people thought Evans would catch him. But Carlos rode incredibly well in the time trial and held onto his lead! He finished the Tour de France with a 58-second lead, becoming the champion of the 2008 Tour de France.

His victory was a huge success for his team, CSC. They also won the young rider classification with Andy Schleck and the overall team classification. After this big win, Carlos left Team CSC at the end of the year because they couldn't agree on a new contract. He then focused on the 2008 Vuelta a España, where he finished 3rd overall.

2009: More Grand Tour Success

In 2009, Carlos Sastre joined a new team called Cervélo TestTeam. He continued his success in Grand Tours by winning two tough mountain stages (Stage 16 and Stage 19) in the 2009 Giro d'Italia. He finished 2nd overall in the Giro, showing he was still one of the best riders in the world.

He tried to defend his title in the 2009 Tour de France but finished 16th overall that year.

2010-2011: Final Years of Racing

In 2010, Carlos raced all three Grand Tours again. He finished 8th in the 2010 Giro d'Italia, 20th in the 2010 Tour de France, and 7th in the 2010 Vuelta a España.

He joined the Geox-TMC team for his final season in 2011. In the 2011 Vuelta a España, Carlos finished 20th overall. He helped his teammate Juan José Cobo win the overall title, though Cobo was later disqualified, and Chris Froome was recognized as the champion.

Soon after, Carlos Sastre announced he was retiring from professional cycling, ending a successful career that lasted 15 years.

Carlos Sastre's Personal Life

Carlos Sastre is married to the sister of another cyclist, José María Jiménez, who sadly passed away in 2003. Carlos dedicated his 2008 Tour de France victory to his brother-in-law's memory.

Career achievements

Major results

Source:

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Grand Tour	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Giro d'Italia	101	—	—	38	—	—	—	43	—	—	2	8	30
Tour de France	—	—	20	10	9	8	21	3	4	1	15	18	—
/ Vuelta a España	—	8	DNF	—	35	6	3	4	2	3	—	7	20

See also

In Spanish: Carlos Sastre para niños