There was a point in time when Alberto Contador was almost unbeatable. He would toy with the opposition without a hint of mercy before unleashing attacks so devastating that even the race vehicles would struggle to keep pace. Whether it was at Verbier in 2009, on the Angliru a year earlier, or on the upper slopes of Etna in 2011, Contador was an unstoppable force. Between the summer of 2007 and the spring of 2011 he won every Grand Tour he started, with only his positive test for Clenbuterol and the final intervention of the Court of Arbitration for Sport scrubbing away two of those titles.
A lot has changed at the Tour de France since those halcyon days for Spanish cycling and Contador fans in general. Team Sky have parked up on the lawn with their bus of marginal gains, a home nation has rediscovered its love for the Tour through Pinot and Bardet, and several rivals from the Schlecks and Evans to Armstrong and Nibali have come and gone. Yet through it all Alberto Contador has endured. He may not be the force he once was, and his style of racing may have modified but the old dog still has a few new tricks up his sleeve as he embarks on what is likely to be his final Tour de France challenge.
And if Alberto Contador is going to win another Tour de France then this is surely his final opportunity. The defending champion, Chris Froome, is more vulnerable than ever. His heir apparent, Richie Porte, still has question marks over his credentials and the diminutive Nairo Quintana failed to impress at the Giro d'Italia. The 2017 Tour is wide open.
During the recent Critérium du Dauphiné, Contador held court with a selection of journalists from the European media. With his coach and Trek-Segafredo directeur sportif, Steven de Jongh, sat by his side, Contador opened up about his hopes for the Tour de France and his preparations for July.
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“I feel optimistic. I’ve worked differently and I’ve been more relaxed. The training has gone well, and the numbers have been good,” he offers up with a relaxed smile, arms neatly folded in front of a pit of voice recorders and iPhones.
With the limelight firmly on Richie Porte and Chris Froome this year, Contador finds himself on the next rung of Tour contenders. It’s a fair status for the 34-year-old. After all, it’s eight years since his Tour pinnacle in 2009 when he won the race despite factions within his own Astana squad conspiring against him. Since then, including the positive test of 2010, Contador has slowly slipped down the pecking order. There have been reminders of his pedigree, of course, such as the 2014 Vuelta a España and the Giro d’Italia of 2015 but at the Tour de France – the greatest show on the earth – Contador’s best performance in recent years was fourth in 2013.
“In 2011 I went to the Tour at the last moment because it was important for Saxo Bank even though the Giro was in my programme. I arrived at the Tour and had a crash and lost a minute on the first day. The next day we lost 40 seconds in the TTT and after two days I was two minutes off my rivals. Then I had a big crash and hurt my knee. On the Galibier I lost the Tour but the next day I had a beautiful attack on Alpe d’Huez,” he says, reeling off his roll of honour, and without stating it, reminding everyone that he still considers himself the 2010 champion.
Managing decline or peaking perfectly?
Why keep on racing?
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