Tour de France favorite Alberto Contador finished up today’s first stage of the Vuelta a Castilla y León safely in the peloton, but admits it wasn’t as calm as he would have liked.
“It has been a very nervous stage because this area is windy and it has made everyone uneasy,” explained Contador.
His Astana team rode well helping to control the race, which will be the plan until Friday’s crucial stage where the Spaniard will look to take over the reins.
“The team has been very attentive at all times,” he said. “We’ve stayed up front in case there were any moves, but in the end we had a good day without problems.”
The day was threatened by rain, but the peloton managed to stay dry for the most part: “We were very lucky,” admitted Contador. “We had a lot of clothes at the start, but we were lucky that we only had a little rain.”
Contador and the rest of the favorites for the overall all finished the day in the clear. The stage ended in a sprint won by Dutchman Theo Bos (Cervelo TestTeam), which had no affect on the race for the overall.
“You see people in front like Igor Anton (Euskaltel-Euskadi), [Tiago] Machado (RadioShack), [Denis] Menchov (Rabobank), and [Ezequiel] Mosquera (Xacobeo Galicia), all very attentive, but on a day like today you cannot draw any conclusions [on who is riding well].”
With the wind being commonplace in the region any stage could bring a crucial split in the peloton, but Friday’s 158.8 kilometer stage finishing atop the category one Alto del Morredero has a profile that will cause a shake up in the overall.
“In this Tour you never know because there is usually wind, but certainly the stage to mark the race will be the Morredero,” he confirmed. The Astana captain also admited that he isn’t feeling one hundred percent just yet.
“Today I have not ridden with a pedal rhythm that I’m happy with, but I came here feeling very relaxed, thinking of the classics. I rested for four days and that might make me a little less agile than usual today and tomorrow.”