Spanish Tour winner to take a break, bids farewell to Astana
Celebrating a new two-year contract with the Saxo Bank-Sungard team, Alberto Contador grabbed victory in the Castillon-la-Bataille criterium in France this evening, and has now put an end to his season.
The 27 year old Spaniard triumphed in the post-Tour de France street race, netting his second win in two days. He hit the line ahead of Tour stage winners Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) and Pierrick Fedrigo (BBox Bouygues Telecom).
Twenty-four hours earlier, he beat Jurgen Van Den Broeck and Johan Vansummeren.at the criterium in Lommel in Belgium.
Those events are reported as being the last of his 2010 season, and therefore represent the final time when he lines out for the Astana team. “Now I want to relax, and also to hold onto my form,” he said.
Contador also finished up the 2009 season in an abrupt fashion, calling it quits after he took his second Tour de France success. That didn’t appear to affect him much; despite a long period away from racing, he returned this spring to post a very successful pre-Tour campaign.
His results included early victories in the Volta ao Algarve, Paris-Nice and the Vuelta Castillya y León, plus solid showings in the Ardennes Classics (namely third in Flèche Wallonne and then ninth in Liège-Bastogne-Liege).
After that, he was second in the Criterium du Dauphinè and went on to win the Tour de France.
The Vuelta a España organisers had hoped Contador would take part in the Spanish Grand Tour this year, but he prefers to stop and fully recharge his batteries.