Defending champion Alberto Contador will have the first real test of his condition on tomorrow’s summit finish of the Volta ao Algarve. The 28 year old Saxo Bank-SunGard rider returned to competition this week after many months fighting a doping charge, and is now attempting to redivert his attention to racing.
The uncertainty about his situation plus the lack of competitive kilometres means that he is not as sharp as many of his rivals. Even so, the Spaniard said that he will try to do as well as possible.
“Tomorrow will be a tough day, with a top finish good for me, but legs are not those of other years”, he admitted. He was thirteenth on today’s second stage, crossing the line in the main bunch one second behind the trio of John Degenkolb (HTC-Highroad), Tyler Farrar (Team Garmin-Cervélo) and Michael Matthews (Rabobank Cycling Team), and will draw some encouragement from his high placing.
“Tomorrow I will try to do my best, because I want to do it for my team and for everyone who has supported me during these months. We'll see what happens,” he said. “[The first stages] were not bad, because they were two days that were not very complicated. I'm also happy because the team is working very well. Tomorrow is the time to draw conclusions,” he said.
Contador has not competed since last summer. He had been mentioned as a possible starter in the Vuelta a España but that went out the window when he learned that he had tested positive for Clenbuterol during the Tour de France.
News of the positive test only emerged in September, when German reporters got wind of the result and were poised to release it. It was expected that Contador would incur a ban of at least a year, but the disciplinary committee of the Spanish federation RFEC cleared him this week. That result is thought likely to be appealed by the UCI, WADA or both.
If that happens, Contador will have to once again turn his focus towards his defence. Now, though, he is channelling his attention on the race at hand, plus a programme that could lead him to the Giro d’Italia in May.
He’ll try to defend his Volta ao Algarve title, but is unsure. “I'm not like other years, but victory cannot ever be ruled out.”
If he is not to be the winner, he regards the Portuguese RadioShack rider Tiago Machado as one who could triumph. “He has been the toughest opponent in the last two years,” he stated. “But it could also be many others [who win tomorrow], because it is a short climb of only two kilometres.”
Stage one winner Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) continues to lead overall, holding a four second lead over Degenkolb. He’s strong on short climbs, and will do what he can to retain his place at the top of the general classification.