Several Tinkoff-Saxo riders, who normally play the part as trusted teammates, will get the chance to shine in the two-day Critérium Internation on Corsica. Tinkoff-Saxo won the race six times in a row from ’04 to ’09 and will be at the start Saturday with a bag of good memories and an ambition to perform well across the versatile three stages.
 
Two days of racing packed with three stages of terrain for the sprinters, time trialists and climbers await Tinkoff-Saxo and the rest of the field on Corsica for this year’s 84thedition of Critérium International. It’s safe to say that it will require a show of tenacity to secure the top spot on the podium, when the race finishes Sunday on top of the 14km Col de l’Ospedale.
 
Tinkoff-Saxo’s team for Critérium International is Chris Anker Sørensen, Manuele Boaro, Jay McCarthy, Jesper Hansen, Pawel Poljanski, Oliver Zaugg, Bruno Pires and Evgeny Petrov. Sean Yates, sports director of Tinkoff-Saxo, explains that a number of riders, who are normally in a supportive role, will get a chance to ride their own chances.
 
“Ultimately, we are looking to put a couple of guys in the GC top-ten, while trying out for a stage win. With much of the GC team away in Catalunya and the Classics riders in Belgium, we’re fielding a mixture of guys, who normally carry out a big amount of work in a supportive role, but now they have a chance to shine and seek out a personal result. Guys like Chris Anker and Hansen seems to be going well and their focus is on the GC. Then we have other guys like Boaro and McCarthy, who’ll focus on the first two stages”, says Sean Yates.

Racing starts Saturday with an early stage of just 92,5km from and to Porto Vecchio in almost completely flat terrain. A few hours later, the riders will be back in the saddle, only this time in a slightly more aggressive position, as they go contre-la-montre on an intensive 7k route.
 
“Stage 1 is short and will inevitably end in a sprint. The climbers will need to stay out of trouble and we’ll try to support Jay McCarthy, who is our fastest guy in a sprint. Then in the afternoon, Boaro will come to the fore in what is his highlight stage. We hope that he can do a good result in the time trial, while the GC guys limit potential time losses”, tells Sean Yates, who underlines that the GC will be decided on the 189km mountain stage to Col de l’Ospedale with a 14k finishing climb of 6,2 %.
 
“It’s not a monster climb but it will definitely be tough enough to create gaps. However, the race might come down to seconds, so that’s why the TT is important. The likes of Thibaut Pinot and defending champion Péraud are probably the favorites, but we believe that guys like Chris Anker and Jesper Hansen stand a fair chance of hanging on far up the finishing climb. We’ll keep those two in a protected role, while we’ll try to cover our options by putting guys like Zaugg, Petrov or Pires in the breakaway”
 
Chris Anker Sørensen returns to racing two weeks after showing promising signs in Paris-Nice with a long breakaway in the mountains. The Dane tells that he heads to Corsica and the start of Critérium International with a confident approach.
 
“I think I finished Paris-Nice on a fairly good note. I recovered well and I had some productive days of training, where my focus was on adding a further level to my shape. Now, we’ll have to see how it goes on Corsica, if my shape is spot on or if there’s still some work to do. I wasn’t completely satisfied after Paris-Nice, so I hope to do a good result here, especially on the final mountain stage”, explains Chris Anker Sørensen.
 
“I think we’ll see some of the bigger French teams take control from the start and we hope to get a good result with Jay, who is perhaps not a pure sprinter, but he is fast. Boaro can do well in the time trial and for guys like Jesper and Zaugg and me it’s about focusing on stage 3. I think some of the GC favorites will take initiative and have their teams lay down a fast pace on the final climb. Maybe it will then turn into a stop-and-go affair or 4-7 guys will reach the summit and decide it in an uphill sprint. It very much depends on the tactics of each team. It’s safe to say that we will do our best and maybe there will be an opening”, finishes Chris Anker Sørensen.