Velonews: Contador Downplays Talk Of Racing Vuelta As He Turns Attention To Tour



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<figure ><img title="Alberto Contador" src="http://cdn.velonews.competitor.com/files/2015/06/Alberto-Contador1-320x213.jpg"/><p>Alberto Contador is turning his attention to the Tour de France, and said the Vuelta is "not part of my plans." Photo: Tim De Waele | <a href="http://www.tdwsport.com" target="_blank">TDWsport.com</a></p></figure><p>The dust has barely settled on his hard-won Giro d’Italia victory, and Alberto Contador is already feeling pressure about the <a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/02/news/alberto-contador-confirms-giro-tour-double_360840" target="_blank">next step in his “doblete,”</a> the Tour de France.</p>
<p>“My Tour de France starts now,” Contador said in the wake of his emotional Giro win. “Now I will recover, listen to my body, and start to think about the Tour.”</p>
<p>The Giro <a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/05/news/road/aru-wins-giro-stage-20-but-contador-stays-in-pink-after-scare_372216"target="_blank">proved more challenging</a> than Contador was hoping for, and he realizes that the Tour de France will be even more difficult. The Giro didn’t see a true rival to challenge Contador, but the Tour will be a different story. Rivals such as Chris Froome (Sky), Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) all steered clear of Italy to have fresh legs for an assault on the yellow jersey.</p>
<p>On Monday, Contador received a hero’s welcome in his hometown of Pinto, south of Madrid. He will stay a few more days in Spain before continuing his preparations for the Tour. He <a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/06/news/inspired-by-pantani-contador-targets-tour-after-giro-win_372430"target="_blank">will take a rest</a> before hitting altitude training, most likely at Teide, and has penciled in a start at the Route du Sud (June 18-21) to put some racing speed into his legs before the start of the Tour on July 4 in Utrecht, Netherlands.</p>
<p>“The Tour is obviously a race that can be much more complicated, for the quality of the field and accumulated efforts from the Giro,” Contador said. “I see them as one, the Giro and Tour. Psychologically, you have to prepare yourself for it, because it’s complicated in your head to end one grand tour like the Giro, and start to think about the next one.”</p>
<p>Many have questioned whether Contador will be able to reach an even higher level required to take on the likes of Froome, Quintana, and Nibali after the intense efforts of the Giro.</p>
<p>Some looked at his 2011 season, when he raced both the Giro and Tour, winning in Italy before arriving flat to the Tour. Those results were later erased as part of his backdated two-year ban in his clenbuterol case, but Contador pointed out that his start in the 2011 Giro as well as the 2008 Giro, which he also won, were largely improvised. In sharp contrast, the 2015 Giro was on his schedule starting last fall.</p>
<p>“With respect to 2008, the preparation was obviously very different to this one that I had planned for,” Contador explained. “In 2008, I started the Giro at the last minute, I didn’t know the route, the climbs, and I didn’t know how I would be received. In 2011, I trained with the Giro in my mind, but I also rode a very intense beginning of the season.</p>
<p>“When we mapped out this ‘doblete,’ the Giro and Tour, we knew that I had to arrive in conditions to win,” Contador continued. “I was not at the same at this Giro as I was at last year’s Tour, so in that regard, it gives me a bit of tranquility.”</p>
<p>And what about the Vuelta a España? Team boss Oleg Tinkov said if Contador can win the Tour, he should defend his title at the Vuelta to try to win the “grand slam” in one season.</p>
<p>“That is his decision. Let’s finish Giro and the Tour. If I were him, I would definitely go to the Vuelta, but even Alberto makes his own decisions,” <a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/05/news/cappuccino-with-oleg-tinkov-wants-to-limit-peloton-size_371919"target="_blank">Tinkov told <em>VeloNews</em> in a recent interview</a>. “It was even his decision to race the Giro-Tour double. The Vuelta is not hard enough for him. It is more suitable for Rodriguez or Valverde. Three grand tours, it’s a really hard task.”</p>
<p>Contador also downplayed talk of the Vuelta, confirming that defending his title from 2014 Vuelta is not part of his plans.</p>
<p>“If something happens strange at the Tour, such as another crash or I don’t race well, then maybe,” Contador said. “Right now, it’s not part of my plans. The Giro and the Tour is enough.”</p>
<p>If Contador does manage to win the Tour, he would complete a sort of “Tiger Slam,” winning all three grand tours in a row, with <a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/09/news/contador-reclaims-crown-king-grand-tours_345842"target="_blank">his emphatic victory in the 2014 Vuelta </a>coupled with his win in the 2015 Giro and possibly another yellow jersey in July.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/06/news/contador-downplays-talk-of-racing-vuelta-as-he-turns-attention-to-tour_372505">Contadordownplays talk of racing Vuelta as he turns attention to Tour</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://velonews.competitor.com">VeloNews.com</a>.</p>

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