Q&A with Astana’s Sean Yates

Astana is looking to make the most of the unexpected trip to the Giro d’Italia. With its marquee lineup that includes Levi Leipheimer, Alberto Contador and Andreas Kloden, the team would normally be expected to dominate the race.

But Astana’s invite didn’t come until a week before the 91st Giro kick-started in Sicily last weekend and the team had less-than-ideal preparation for one of the season’s hardest races.

At nearly a week into the race, the team’s top riders are starting to find their racing legs. Friday’s summit finish and next week’s flat time trial will reveal which Astana rider will be poised to carry the team colors into the final decisive week.

VeloNews caught up with sport director Sean Yates after Thursday’s stage to gauge the team’s mood at the end of the first week of racing. Here are excerpts from the interview:

VN: Leipheimer was caught up behind the motorcycle incident in Thursday’s well within the final three kilometers, why were the time differences taken?

SY: I don’t know why they wouldn’t be applying the rules because the three-kilometer rule applied in (Thursday’s) stage. There was an accident with a motorcycle that caused the gaps to appear. I cannot see why they’re not applying the rule and it’s ridiculous that they’re not. The commissaires said they’re going to look at the film in the morning and make a decision. Everyone knew about the three-kilometer rule, that’s why there wasn’t a desperate sprint to get back on.

VN: Just another misadventure in this Giro?

SY: If this happened at the Tour, everyone would be bloody up in arms. At the Giro, no one does anything about it. It’s true that the riders kicked up a stink about the long distance of (Thursday’s) stage and that caused the stage to be shortened. Last year, we had all these circuit finishes and they decided to take the time at the first passage, but then it was a joke because no one was racing and it looked bad on TV, so they’ve cut that out, too. But no one’s done anything about these ridiculous transfers. We had one hour before (Thursday’s) stage and two hours after. To go from Sicily to Italy it took two-and-a-half hours in boat. The riders had to take showers in what looked like a concentration camp. They only had two buses to carry riders to the boat. So once they were filled, they had to wait 45 minutes for the buses to go back and pick up the rest. Why didn’t they just have four buses and make one trip? We didn’t get to the hotel until 10:15 p.m. It’s outrageous.

VN: Besides the hassles with transfers, how are the riders holding up so far in the Giro?

SY: Everything is hunky dory. Steve (Morabito) had that bad crash and he is one of our top helpers. We have three leaders here, so instead of one or two leaders, with seven or eight helpers, we only have six. So every rider counts here for us. This race obviously isn’t our main goal of the season and we didn’t have any time to prepare. For the Italians, this is their world championships, so they’re the ones to carry the race. Our three leaders are looking pretty good. (Friday) is a summit finish, but I don’t see it being too decisive. I think it’s with the approaching time trial that we’ll see our guys move up. Levi and Andreas should both do well there. It’s good for us that Quick Step has the jersey, because even if Levi and Andreas move up, Quick Step will probably still have the jersey if their man manages to hang on. If he doesn’t, there should be another from the group (Thursday) who could take the jersey. Andreas will be in good shape and the time trial looks perfect for him.

VN: You have Leipheimer, Contador and Kloden, which of the three is looking the best right now?

SY: Andreas is looking particularly good. Levi is coming better and Alberto is OK. I think Andreas, in theory, with the time trial course, will do the best of the three because he was coming strong out of Romandie. Levi was hoping to do OK in Catalunya, so he’s getting better. With Alberto, you can see him winning on the Marmolada and the Corones time trial is perfect for him. We don’t know. Our riders are that much better than the rest, so they can adapt to the conditions of the race. They had to compromise in their preparation, but in theory, they should be OK. We’ll see.

VN: What’s the overall mood of the team considering its last-minute invitation?

SY: The morale is good. Almost everyone is going pretty well. There’s no pressure. We’re trying to enjoy it the best we can. The riders aren’t complaining about all the problems. Everyone is pretty cool with it. The overall mood is good.

VN: Do the riders want to do well or are they just hoping to ride into the last week and see what happens?

SY: They have individual ambitions, but we’re taking it one day at a time. We have a distinct advantage in quality with the riders we’ve got. We’ve got three individuals who’ve been on podiums in grand tours. We have one who’s been on the Tour and Vuelta podium. Another who’s been on the Tour podium more than once. And another who’s won the Tour. There is no one that has that kind of pedigree. Statistically, we’re looking pretty good, but statistics only go so far.

VN: So the team is just trying to make the best of the situation?

SY: We’d enjoy it a lot more if we get a result. When things start going bad, things can get ugly pretty fast. But the mood changes when things go well. It’s all to come. We’ll just take it as it comes. If we do well, then it’s up to the other teams to try to dislodge us. It depends on what happens.

VN: Who else do you see who’s strong?

SY: It’s hard to say. Look at Di Luca, no one ever considered him as a GC rider until last year. Right now, it’s a free for all. Liquigas has Pellizotti, who what has he done in a grand tour? Savoldelli is there, he’s won two Giros, but he’s working for Di Luca. Saunier Duval has Riccò and there’s Menchov. Simoni has the best record, but he’s getting on a bit, he knows he has nothing to lose, it’s his last race. He’s definitely a guy who people have to look out. It’s totally open.

VN: What we you doing when the call came a week before the Giro?

SY: I was doing my gardening job. I was set to do Dunkirk, so it’s a matter of being away from home for one month instead of one week.

VN: Does the team have something to prove at this Giro?

SY: Of course we want to do well. Just the names alone the team brings makes the organizer happy. We’ll contribute to the race one way or another whatever happens. We’re a professional team. The way we’ve reacted shows that we can handle this type of thing. Not just the riders, but everyone from the mechanics to the staff to the secretary in the warehouse to pull it all together. That says a lot.

VN: Do you think that the Tour de France will make a similar change of heart and invite the team?

SY: I haven’t a clue. I’m not even thinking about that. That’s not my job to worry about those things. We’re at the Giro now and that’s what’s most important right now.

FILED UNDER: Road