Despite not knowing exactly which team he will be riding for in 2010, Tour de France champion Alberto Contador is already planning which races he rides in the build up to his title defence. Already having confirmed that he will be missing the Giro d’Italia, Contador confirmed in an interview on French television that he would like to ride the Ardennes classics of Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege at the end of April.
The Spaniard will not, he says, be looking to win either race – although the short sharp hills would likely suit his climbing prowess – but will be taking the opportunity of familiarising himself with the terrain covered in the early stages of the Tour de France. Unsurprisingly though, he has no plans to take in the cobbled classics of the Ronde van Vlaanderen or Paris-Roubaix to get to know the cobblestones that the race will also traverse come July.
Contador still hasn’t announced which team that he will ride for next year, despite apparently being free to leave Astana since the team’s paperwork was delivered to the UCI’s ProTour council late. He has not ruled out staying with the Kazakh outfit though, calling Astana’s recent acquisition of riders and staff as “serious and interesting”. With his new interest in spring races in Belgium though, it is inevitable that speculation is growing about his potential move to the Quick Step team, which has expressed a desire to sign him.