Contador eyes next year's Vuelta
Spanish Tour de France winner Alberto Contador has said that he could race in next season's Vuelta a Espana as he looks to complete two Grand Tours in one year.
This year, Contador focused exclusively on the Tour with his current team Astana, picking up his third win in cycling's most prestigious race.
The last time the Spaniard started another Grand Tour was in 2008, when he won both the Vuelta and the Giro d'Italia as Astana were not invited to race in that year's Tour.
Having signed with Danish manager Bjarne Riis' new outfit Saxo Bank-Sunguard for 2011, Contador has stated his intention to compete in two Grand Tours next year, as he did in 2008.
“If everything goes normally, I will do two major tours. It’s not completely certain, but in principle, I will do the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España," Contador told Spanish newspaper Marca, contradicting his previous claim that he would race in next year's Giro.
“Some people don’t realise that when I rode the Tour de France in July, my season was almost over. I was already up there in my first race of the year, the Volta ao Algarve. When I rode the Tour I was hitting top form for the second time in the year.”
Two Grand Tours will please Riis
Contador, who is currently recovering from a minor knee injury sustained in training, is already preparing for next season, his first with Riis as manager.
His ambition to challenge in both the Tour and the Vuelta next season will be welcomed by the Dane, who may not be fully satisfied until Contador starts in all three Grand Tours. Riis has previously said that Contador's talent renders him capable of winning all three races in one season, something no rider has ever done.
While preparing for this year's Tour, Contador won the Volta ao Algarve, Paris–Nice and Vuelta a Castilla y Leon.
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