Ivan Basso has defended Alberto Contador after criticism from Tinkoff team owner Oleg Tinkov, saying he believes the Spaniard can still be competitive in Grand Tours despite turning 34 on December 6 and changing his mind about retirement mid-season.
Basso has worked closely with Contador since overcoming testicular cancer in 2015 and ending his own professional career. Like Contador, he will be part of the Trek-Segafredo team in 2017 but will not be a directeur sportif or team manager. Instead he will be in charge of the development teams linked to Trek-Segafredo and represent the two brands at races.
In October, as the Tinkoff team competed in its final races, Tinkov attacked Contador, revealing in a final interview with Cyclingnews that the two never got on. The Russian team owner suggested Contador will be like ‘a limping duck’ after he decided to continue his career with Trek-Segafredo and not retire as initially planned. Tinkov also warned about Contador’s entourage that will move to Trek-Segafredo for 2017.
ADVERTISEMENT
Basso revealed to Gazzetta dello Sport that he has spoken to Tinkov and given his point of view. He denied there is a Contador clan that is difficult to manage.
“I don’t agree. The point is that when a marriage ends, there are always some problems. Time will tell who is right. I’ve clarified my relationship and my point of view with Tinkov,” Basso explained.
“Alberto is simply a guy who often forgets about the talent he has. He is still working hard with ambitious goals even though he’s won everything time and time again. He’s got the wellbeing that a career like his has given him but he lives for his sport.”
The youth project
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/2gv9q7e
No comments:
Post a Comment