Although Alberto Contador was unable to successfully defend his title in the Volta ao Algarve, Saxo Bank SunGard general manager Bjarne Riis has said that he is actually a little relieved that he didn’t top the podium.
Riis’s reasoning is that he doesn’t want his rider to show too much form early on in the season, and that it is better to gradually build condition.
“Alberto is a little annoyed now because he would have liked to have done even better. And of course it would indeed have been great with a victory,” he told Politiken. “But it would also have made me worried if he had been able to win now. For me, it would have been proof that his form is too far advanced in relation to the events that really matter later in the season.”
Contador hasn’t raced since last summer, mostly due to his positive test for Clenbuterol. He was surprisingly cleared of all charges last week by the Spanish cycling federation RFEC, and quickly travelled to the Volta ao Algarve.
“He went to his first assignment with less than a day’s notice and is up against riders who have had completely different conditions,” said Riis. “With this background, he is already at a very good level. He has shown that he has class and so the results must surely come.”
Contador finished in the main bunch on the first two stages, showing decent form with 13th place on day two. He then took third place on the mountain top finish of Malho, crossing the line just behind Steve Cummings (Sky Procycling) and Tejay Van Garderen (HTC Highroad). That left him just six seconds off the race leadership of Cummings, but an expected charge in the time trial didn’t materialise and he was only 15th. He took fourth overall as a result.
Riis said that afterwards he had to tell the ambitious rider that his performance was perfectly reasonable. “I tried to convince Alberto that what he has done in this race is completely satisfactory,” he stated. “And that he should first and foremost welcome that he can race like this, on the basis of everything that has happened in reacent months.”
Contador faces a probable appeal from either the UCI or WADA, but will be able to race uninterrupted until at least June. UCI president Pat McQuaid has said that he wants to have a resolution to any appeal before the Tour de France, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport told VeloNation in recent days that the case could stretch on past the start of the Tour de France. It seems almost certain that Contador will be at the Grand Depart this year.