Although there have been suggestions that Alberto Contador’s season is now over, the Spaniard has confirmed that he will continue to race until later this month. The Saxo Bank SunGard competitor will line out in the Handelsbanken Criterium on Friday August 12th, travelling to Denmark to do so.
The Giro d’Italia winner’s presence at the race is due to the fact that the team is from that country. The event will be held in Aalborg, approximately 130 kilometres from Herning, the hometown of Saxo Bank SunGard team owner Bjarne Riis.
Contador suggests that he will also visit the latter location. “I'm looking forward to be getting back to Herning,” he stated. “Last year when I visited Denmark for the first time to do a race, I was greeted with a very warm welcome. I hope the Danish enthusiasts will meet me the same way this year,” he stated.
One difference since then is that he has been battling charges relating to a Clenubuterol positive in the 2010 Tour de France. His future path is unknown, particularly as an appeal hearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport will be held this Autumn.
If he is cleared, he and the team will start planning his racing calendar for 2012. While he has already indicated he won’t defend his Giro d’Italia title, he has an interest in the route and will use the trip to check some of it out.
“I heard from Bjarne (Riis) that Herning has be chosen to host the start of the Giro next year which surely makes the visit even more interesting,” he said. “Even though I will do my best, no one should expect me to win the race as I know from last year's visit that the course is flat, which obviously isn't my specialty.”
Contador has been racing at a high level for much of the season. He finished fourth in the Volta ao Algarve in February, took his first win of the year in the Vuelta a Murcia in early March, and went on to net two stages plus the overall classification in the Giro d’Italia. His heavy programme was most likely the reason why he was below his previous level in the Tour de France; he had to be satisfied with fifth overall there.
Since then he has been racing in criteirums, and will most likely bring his season to a close after the upcoming Danish event.