Although he previously featured the spring Classics as part of his buildup to the Tour de France, Alberto Contador has decided against riding the Ardennes events in 2013.
French daily l’Equipe reported that the Spaniard has opted to miss the Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which will take place on April 14th, 17th and 21st respectively.
His press agent Jacinto Vidarte has confirmed this today as the most likely course of action. “His program is Oman, Tirreno, Criterium International and País Vasco,” he told VeloNation. “Then, before the Tour de France, he will ride the Dauphiné.”
However Vidarte said that there is some flexibility. “This is his programme, but something could change. For instance, the ‘no’ to the Ardennes Classics depends on his form after the Pais Vasco, but normally he will not be there. Maybe he’ll do the Nationals, but those kind of things are decided later.”
In between his races, Contador is understood to be planning to ride some sections of the Tour de France route. Participating in the Critérium International will also enable him to see some of the roads that will feature in the race in July.
He has marked out the Tour as his biggest goal of this season, being determined to rack up his third victory in the race.
The Team Saxo Tinkoff rider famously travelled by car from Spain to Belgium for the 2010 Ardennes Classics, doing the journey that way because airplane flights were cancelled across Europe over the volcanic ash in the atmosphere.
He made his 2013 season debut in the recent Tour de San Luis, winning a mountain stage and finishing fourth overall.