Team CSC-Saxo Bank captain Carlos Sastre expressed satisfaction after riding quietly to 20th at the Dauphine Libere race that ended Sunday in France. “I didn’t go to the Dauphine to try to win, but to test my sensations and my improvements in relation to other races. I feel satisfied enough with how I rode and I know that there are still four weeks before the decisive stages of the Tour de France,” Sastre said. “I am going to the Tour just as I planned, to fight for the overall with possibilities of winning.” Sastre didn’t sound alarmed about his performance during the Dauphine, when he was uncharacteristically seen at the back of the group during the decisive mountain stages when he’s typically railing at the front. “There were four riders that were head and shoulders above everyone else. I realized this very early and decided not to try to win,” Sastre said. “I can understand why people might feel worried, but the plan we have to arrive 100 percent for the Tour didn’t include trying to arrive at the Dauphine in the type of condition to try to win.”

Team CSC has climbed atop the team classification in the ProTour standings following the recent Volta a Catalunya. Team CSC has won the ProTour team title three years running in what was an important reflection of the team’s consistency, depth and quality. The ProTour ranking, however, has lost some of its shine following a split between cycling’s governing body and the sport’s biggest race organizers. Such events as the three major grand tours and many of the most important one-day races such as Paris-Roubaix and Milan San-Remo are no longer part of the points system. Fränk Schleck is the highest ranked rider from Team CSC in 11th with 32 points. Team CSC will surely shine in the events that remain part of the ProTour. Up next are the Dauphiné Libéré and the Tour de Suisse, two stage races where the team is expected to do well in the final dress rehearsals ahead of the Tour de France.

After finishing the three-week Giro d’Italia on Sunday, the 34-year-old American is catching a flight Monday to the United States, where he’ll start Tuesday’s Lancaster Classic as part of “Philly Week.” “I jump straight on a plane and race in the U.S. We’ll see how the legs respond that day!” McCartney said. “I probably won’t be going to the Tour de France, so I will take a little break and reload for the Vuelta and hopefully the Olympics if I can make the team.”