Spaniard sets unprecedented Grand Slam as a career objective
Alberto Contador has said in the past that he’s not obsessing about winning the most Tours de France, stating instead that he’ll take his career season by season and look at what he has achieved at the end of it all. The Spaniard has however set himself a goal that would, if achieved, mark him out as one of the greatest champions of all time; specifically, he wants to be the first in history to win the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España in the same year.
“Alberto’s ambition is to win all three major stage races in the same year, and I want to be part of it,” said Bjarne Riis at today’s Saxo Bank-SunGard press conference, at which he confirmed that Contador would ride for him for the next two seasons.
“It is not certain that it will be next year, but the ambition is to succeed in one of the next few years. I believe that it is feasible.”
Contador has already completed the treble in separate seasons, winning the Tour de France in 2007 and then taking the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España in 2008. His Astana team had not been invited to the Tour that year and so he set the two other races as targets.
In doing so he set a record, becoming the rider to take all three in the shortest period of time. His Vuelta win saw him join the Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault, the Italian Felice Gimondi and the Belgian Eddy Merckx as the only riders to race to victory in the three Grand Tours, but he did so in just 15 months. That beat the previous best mark, as set by Hinault in winning the Tour/Vuelta in 1978 and the Giro in 1980.
As expected, Riis announced Contador’s signing in Cophenhagen today. A bigger surprise was the news that Saxo Bank was staying on as one of the main sponsors, with the company having previously stated that it was quitting sponsorship at the end of 2010.
The company’s directors indicated that Contador’s signature played a major part in their decision to stay on board. If he makes a bid to win the Grand Slam in 2011 or 2012, there would be an additional incentive for backers to get behind the team, particularly as a successful effort would be the first ever in the sport. Taking the Maglia Rosa, the Maillot Jaune and the new Maillot Rojo (red jersey) would also be a phenomenal athletic achievement, as even riding three Grand Tours in one season is a rare feat.