Tour News – Contador Calm Ahead of Tour

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Tour favourite Alberto Contador “My condition reminds me of the feelings I had at the start of the 2009 Tour de France”

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Tour News – Contador Calm Ahead of Tour

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There are two clear favourites for the 2014 Tour de France, Chris Froome and Alberto Contador. Whilst Froome, winner in 2013, is the favourite, Alberto Contador is considered a close challenger and the rider himself is calm ahead of the race. “My condition reminds me of the feelings I had at the start of the 2009 Tour de France” he said at the press conference.

“All Tours de France are special, but I come to this one calm as I’ve had good results since the beginning of the season”, said the leader of the Tinkoff-Saxo team.

AlbertoContadorKingofTwoSeas

“I’m in good form. I don’t know if my form will allow me to beat Chris Froome who won last year’s race by a big margin and he’s logically the hot favorite this time around. It’ll be hard to beat him if his level is superior to last year. But I believe other riders arrive here well prepared also”.

“Three or four riders look like being alternatives for winning the Tour and I’m one of them. The most important will be to have the best form when we hit the mountains.”

Contador doesn’t feel the first week is crucial though. “The first week isn’t as crucial this year as in the editions with a prologue or a team time trial. Stages 2 and 5 ccould create time gaps. I have seen videos of stage 2 and it’s a bit tricky. Many riders will be fresh and the wind might play an important role”.

“I’ll have to remain focused at every moment of the race and I hope my legs will respond well. I’ve seen more of stage 5 by myself. My team has a lot of experience riding the cobbles but that’s also the case for Froome’s team while Vincenzo Nibali’s team is also powerful and able to do well on that terrain”.

“I’ll face that stage with respect. It’ll be a survival exercise for all the GC contenders. The Tour can be lost on that day. Today, it’s very difficult to make a prediction but I’ll race with a lot of motivation”.

 

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