Carlos Sastre facts for kids
Sastre at the 2010 Tour de France
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Carlos Sastre Candil | ||
| Born | 22 April 1975 Leganés, Spain |
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| 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 | |||
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Carlos Sastre Candil, born on April 22, 1975, is a former professional road bicycle racer from Spain. He is famous for winning the 2008 Tour de France, one of the biggest cycling races in the world.
Carlos Sastre was known for being a very strong climbing specialist. This means he was excellent at riding bikes up steep mountains. He also worked hard to improve his individual time trial skills, which helped him become a top contender in major races.
Throughout his career, Sastre often finished in the top ten of the three biggest cycling races, called Grand Tours. He even reached the podium (top three) in each of them. Carlos Sastre is also known as "Don Limpio" (Mr. Clean) because he was never involved in any doping scandals. This makes him one of the few riders from his era to win the Tour de France without any questions about his honesty.
Carlos Sastre's Cycling Journey
When Carlos Sastre was young, a professional cyclist named Francisco Ignacio San Román lived with his family. Carlos was first coached by his own father. This early start helped him become 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 win by doing things like carrying water or blocking the wind. Even though he mostly helped others, Sastre showed his strength in the mountains. He won the "King of the Mountains" competition in the 2000 Vuelta a España.
In 2002, he moved to the CSC team. Here, he became a team captain for the Vuelta a España. In the Tour de France, he had more freedom to race for himself. This led to a big win in the 13th stage of the 2003 Tour de France. He famously crossed the finish line with a pacifier in his mouth. This was a special greeting to his baby daughter.
Improving His Skills
Before the 2004 season, Carlos Sastre and his teammate Ivan Basso trained hard to get better at individual time trials. They even went to MIT in Boston to train in a special wind tunnel. This training helped Sastre improve a lot. He finished 6th overall in the 2004 Vuelta a España and 8th in the 2004 Tour de France.
In the 2005 Tour de France, Sastre again helped his teammate Ivan Basso. He finished 21st overall. However, in the 2005 Vuelta a España, he was the team captain. He achieved his first podium finish in a Grand Tour, coming in third place. Later, the original winner was disqualified, which moved Sastre up to second place.
Racing All Three Grand Tours in One Year
In 2006, Carlos Sastre decided to ride in all three Grand Tours: the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France, and the Vuelta a España. This is a very difficult challenge that only a few cyclists attempt.
2006 Giro and Tour de France
In the 2006 Giro d'Italia, Sastre helped his teammate Ivan Basso win the race. Sastre finished 43rd overall. Just before the 2006 Tour de France began, Ivan Basso was suspended. This meant Carlos Sastre suddenly became the main leader for his team. Even though he had planned to focus on the Vuelta, this was a big chance for him.
Sastre showed he was one of the strongest climbers in the Tour. He finished 3rd overall in the 2006 Tour de France.
2006 Vuelta a España
After finishing the Giro and Tour, Sastre also completed the 2006 Vuelta a España, finishing 4th overall. By doing this, he became one of the rare cyclists to finish all three Grand Tours in a single year.
Top Finishes in 2007
In the 2007 Tour de France, Sastre finished 4th overall. He also came in 2nd overall in the 2007 Vuelta a España. These were strong results, showing his consistency.
Winning the 2008 Tour de France
Carlos Sastre was one of the top riders expected to win the 2008 Tour de France. He rode carefully in the early stages. On the important 17th stage, Sastre made a powerful attack on the famous climb of Alpe d'Huez. He finished more than two minutes ahead of his main rival, Cadel Evans. This amazing effort helped him take the yellow jersey, which is worn by the race leader.
Sastre knew he needed a good lead before the final time trial. He managed to keep his lead in the time trial, winning the Tour de France by 58 seconds. It was a dream come true for him. He said he was "beyond words" to achieve something he had dreamt of since he was a child. His team also had a fantastic Tour, winning other awards and stages.
After his big win, Sastre also finished 3rd overall in the 2008 Vuelta a España.
New Team and More Wins in 2009
In 2009, Sastre joined a new team called Cervélo TestTeam. He continued to show his climbing skills. He won two difficult mountain stages (Stage 16 and Stage 19) in the 2009 Giro d'Italia. He finished 2nd overall in that race.
In the 2009 Tour de France, he tried to defend his title but finished 15th overall.
Final Years of Racing
In 2010, Sastre once again raced all three Grand Tours. He finished 8th in the 2010 Giro d'Italia, 18th 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, Sastre finished 20th overall. He helped his teammate, Juan José Cobo, win the overall title. However, Cobo was later found to be ineligible for his results due to rule violations. Because of this, Chris Froome was recognized as the 2011 champion instead.
Soon after, Carlos Sastre announced he was retiring from professional cycling. He had a successful career that lasted 15 years.
Personal Life
Carlos Sastre is married to the sister of another cyclist, José María Jiménez. Sadly, Jiménez passed away in 2003. Sastre dedicated his 2008 Tour de France victory to his memory.
Career Achievements
Major Results
- 1997
- 3rd Overall Vuelta a Navarra
- 1999
- 4th GP Villafranca de Ordizia
- 2000
- 2nd Subida al Naranco
- 8th Overall Vuelta a España
- 1st
Mountains classification
- 1st
- 2001
- 1st Stage 3 Vuelta a Burgos
- 2002
- 10th Overall Tour de France
- 2003
- 9th Overall Tour de France
- 1st Stage 13
- 9th Overall Tour de France
- 2004
- 6th Overall Vuelta a España
- 8th Overall Tour de France
- 2005
- 2nd Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
- 3rd Overall Vuelta a España
- 2006
- 1st Klasika Primavera
- 1st Stage 5 (TTT) Giro d'Italia
- 3rd Overall Tour de France
- 1st Stage 17
- 4th Overall Vuelta a España
- 1st Stage 1 (TTT)
- 2007
- 2nd Overall Vuelta a España
- 4th Overall Tour de France
- 2008
- 1st
Overall Tour de France
- 1st
Mountains classification - 1st Stage 17
- 1st
- 3rd Overall Vuelta a España
- 1st
- 2009
- 2nd Overall Giro d'Italia
- 1st Stages 16 & 19
- 2nd Overall Giro d'Italia
- 2010
- 3rd Clásica de San Sebastián
- 7th Overall Vuelta a España
- 8th Overall Giro d'Italia
- 2011
- 3rd Overall Tour of Austria
Grand Tour 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 |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
See also
In Spanish: Carlos Sastre para niños
