Posted From - Alberto Contador Fans Notebook
The winner of the 2007 Tour assures that the 2008 edition will be a new challenge in his life and hopes to demonstrate that he’s at the highest level
“I would have liked it better if there had been a mountain time trial and a prologue on the first day. That would have been perfect for me, but it is what it is. So it will be a more important challenge for me to be able to demonstrate that I’m at the highest level in any route,” said Contador, speaking at the October 25 ceremony unveiling the route for the 2008 Tour de France.
Contador played down the influence that wearing the number one at the start would have on his performance. “I rather like the pressure, it’s something that goes along with winning, and I just have to accept it,” he said. “It’s impossible to say that I’m going to win, because that’s something very difficult to do, but I’m going with the hope that I’ll be able to revalidate the title,” affirmed the cyclist from Pinto, who indicated that if he had designed the route, it would have taken another shape. “I hope to adapt to this route and to fight for the victory.”
Contador pointed out that the stage which ends on the Alpe d’Huez, Stage 17, is the “star” of this year’s edition, and has paid attention to it with the goal in mind of taking a victory there, just as he marked Plateau de Beille for a win in 2007.
As far as the new measures taken to fight against doping, like the biological passport, Contador said that “in the short term it will be difficult to eliminate all the suspicions,” but was optimistic that it can “clean up this sport if it’s applied with the necessary physical and economic means.”
The colors of Kazakhstan
Contador will meet the challenge of capturing his second consecutive Tour title in the colors of a new team, Astana, to whom he committed a few days ago.
"After evaluating for several months the different offers, I didn’t know which one to choose. The image of last year’s Astana has been dimmed by scandals. I’ve had doubts, I’ve spoken with my family and I’ve seen that it was the best option,” he said.
“The technical organization will change totally. It has a competitive team guaranteed to be, on the 5th of July, in condition to fight,” he assured.
Contador said that the arrival at Astana of his Discovery team director, Johan Bruyneel, was a key element in his decision to go to the Kazakhstani organization, although it also had much to do with the fact that they've selected a thoroughly competitive body of riders.
“We’re going to apply anti-doping systems similar to those of CSC. I believe it’s a very important step in changing the image of the team, and seeing all this, I believe that I’ve made the best decision,” he commented.
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