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Tour de France: Alberto Contador may regret turning blind eye to Sheffield Tour de France: Alberto Contador may regret giving Sheffield blind eye
(about 2 hours later)
By Sunday night, Alberto Contador will have learnt whether his decision to avoid looking over the Tour de France stage into Sheffield was a wise one or not, but speaking the day before the race began here, he said that with its eight categorised climbs late on it could prove extremely tricky. By Sunday night, Alberto Contador will have learnt whether his decision to avoid looking over the Tour de France stage into Sheffield was a wise one or not but, speaking the day before the race begins, he said that with its eight categorised climbs late on it could prove extremely tricky.
Call it confidence, call it the old-school approach that the road will decide, but Contador has not taken advantage of his time in Yorkshire to examine Jenkin Road or Oughtibridge. “I’ve seen it on video, but not on the ground. One big factor could be the wind, and there is a heck of a lot of climbing for an early stage in the Tour. You’ll have to pay attention for the entire day and I hope my legs are up to the task.” Call it confidence, call it the old-school approach that the road will decide, but Contador has not taken advantage of his time in Yorkshire to examine Jenkin Road or Oughtibridge. “I’ve seen it on video but not on the ground. One big factor could be the wind and there is a heck of a lot of climbing for an early stage in the Tour. You’ll have to pay attention for the entire day and I hope my legs are up to the task.”
The Spaniard has won more Grands Tours than any other rider in the peloton – including the Tour in 2007 and 2009, plus a victory in 2010 that was removed from his record due to a positive test for clenbuterol – but he was keen to thrust the mantle of favourite on to the shoulders of Chris Froome, winner in 2013. “The rider who has shown he is the best in the last two years is Froome, he’s the No1 favourite. As for me, have I got better since last year? Yes, but I don’t know if it will be enough.”The Spaniard has won more Grands Tours than any other rider in the peloton – including the Tour in 2007 and 2009, plus a victory in 2010 that was removed from his record due to a positive test for clenbuterol – but he was keen to thrust the mantle of favourite on to the shoulders of Chris Froome, winner in 2013. “The rider who has shown he is the best in the last two years is Froome, he’s the No1 favourite. As for me, have I got better since last year? Yes, but I don’t know if it will be enough.”
Contador appeared more relaxed than Froome had on facing the media on Thursday, and said he expected a different race from 2013, when the Kenyan-born Briton gained a substantial amount of time on his opponents relatively early in proceedings. “We’ve got some key stages early on – stage two and stage five over the pave – but the race won’t start until we get to the Vosges, and there is no early time trial, so it’s not going to be like last year.” Contador appeared more relaxed than Froome had on facing the media on Thursday and said he expected a different race from 2013, when the Kenyan-born Briton gained a substantial amount of time on his opponents relatively early in proceedings. “We’ve got some key stages early on – stage two and stage five over the pave – but the race won’t start until we get to the Vosges, and there is no early time trial, so it’s not going to be like last year.”
This season, Contador looked stronger in the early season than Froome, but was not quite at the same level as the Team Sky leader when they were matched together in the key stages of the Dauphiné Libéré, the warm-up race for the Tour. He is uncertain how his form this season compares with that of 2009, when he won the Tour in spite of a tense battle with his own team-mate, the future-ex-seven-times winner Lance Armstrong. This season, Contador looked stronger in the early season than Froome but was not quite at the same level as the Team Sky leader when they were matched together in the key stages of the Dauphiné Libéré, the warm-up race for the Tour. He is uncertain how his form this season compares with that of 2009, when he won the Tour in spite of a tense battle with his own team-mate, the future-ex-seven-times winner Lance Armstrong.
In 2010, Contador showed well compared to the other favourites on the third stage, which featured several cobbled sections. The consensus is that he is better placed than Froome for this year’s leg over the cobbles, stage five, but not surprisingly he was keen to play this down.In 2010, Contador showed well compared to the other favourites on the third stage, which featured several cobbled sections. The consensus is that he is better placed than Froome for this year’s leg over the cobbles, stage five, but not surprisingly he was keen to play this down.
“Froome has a very experienced team for that stage, but so does Vincenzo Nibali and he’s pretty handy on that kind of terrain. It will be a battle for survival for all of us. It’s a stage where you can lose the Tour, but it’s also one where you can gain a lot of time on your rivals.” “Froome has a very experienced team for that stage but so does Vincenzo Nibali and he’s pretty handy on that kind of terrain. It will be a battle for survival for all of us. It’s a stage where you can lose the Tour, but it’s also one where you can gain a lot of time on your rivals.”
Contador’s Saxo-Tinkoff team has connections with Sky, as it includes two key members who have spent time at Froome’s Team Sky – the road captain Michael Rogers and the directeur sportif Steven de Jongh, who has also become Contador’s coach – and the team’s general manager Bjarne Riis said that had he been in Sir Dave Brailsford’s shoes, he might have acted differently over the vexed question of whether to put in Sir Bradley Wiggins or not. Contador’s Saxo-Tinkoff team has connections with Sky, as it includes two key members who have spent time at Froome’s Team Sky – the road captain, Michael Rogers, and the directeur sportif, Steven de Jongh, who has also become Contador’s coach – and the team’s general manager, Bjarne Riis, said that had he been in Sir Dave Brailsford’s shoes, he might have acted differently over the vexed question of whether to put in Sir Bradley Wiggins or not.
“Wiggins isn’t in my team, so it’s not a question I had to worry about. But if he had been in my team, I’d probably have included him.” That was an entertaining footnote, but what is certain is that had Sky been involved in Contador’s buildup to the Tour, he would have had a close look at Sunday’s stage. “Wiggins isn’t in my team, so it’s not a question I had to worry about. But if he had been in my team, I’d probably have included him.”
That was an entertaining footnote but what is certain is that had Sky been involved in Contador’s buildup to the Tour, he would have had a close look at Sunday’s stage.