Previously ended season before worlds
Rejigging his race programme to ensure that he is in the best shape possible for the Tour de France, Alberto Contador has said that he is also planning to ride the Olympic Games and might also take part in the world road race championships next September.
The Saxo Bank SunGard rider has wound his racing programme down after recent Tours but is viewing things differently for 2012, telling La Gazzetta dello Sport that his ambitions will continue past July.
“I would like to be there, as much as it is possible,” he said of the London 2012 Olympic Games. “In the time trial, which comes after the Tour, I think we can make a big test,” he said.
That TT will take place on August 1st. One month and eighteen days later, the race against the clock at the world championships will be fought out and he believes there is a chance that he will battle for a medal there too. “I don’t know the routes of Limburg, but if it suits me I would like to race. At least in the time trial.”
Contador has indicated that he could do the Vuelta a España next year, and so that race would slot in between the Olympics and world championships.
While Contador is best known as a climber, he is also able to time trial. He beat Fabian Cancellara to win the final TT in the 2009 Tour de France, and has also taken many other scalps during his time in the sport.
Right now, his future in the sport is however uncertain as he is facing a CAS hearing later this month. It relates to his positive test for Clenbuterol in last year’s Tour. He states that the substance was accidentally ingested via contaminated food, but CAS will have the final say.
Both the UCI and WADA are contesting his acquittal by the Spanish cycling federation RFEC. The hearing will be held between November 21st and 24th, and his 2012 season programme will depend on what happens there.
If he wins his case and does indeed compete in next year’s worlds, it would represent a significant change to his programme. In recent seasons Contador has tended to both start and finish the season early.