Defending Tour de France champ “very, very pleased” with first stage
Alberto Contador was caught up in the mess of the finale of Stage 1 in Brussels. Contador emerged from the chaos relatively unscathed with a bit of a wound to his knee, but shrugs it off: “Nothing that can’t be cured with some ice.”
Looking back at the stage, Contador and his Astana team rode a solid race, but couldn’t avoid the mayhem in the final moments: “I didn’t have a chance with the bikes in front of me. Today was a day that was quite dangerous, but we are in the best race in the world and to win a stage here is something that very few people can do. Everyone goes to the maximum, and the end, these things happen.”
Contador did his best to avoid the crash, but there was nothing he could do about it. “There were several crashes at the end of the stage, and the one with Fabian Cancellara was right behind me. I didn’t have time to brake. I hit the riders that were already on the ground, but I’m more or less happy. I took a big blow on my left leg, but nothing serious…It was scary, because I saw that I did not have time to stop – there were so many bikes in front of me that eventually you run into them.”
The stage itself was not without its suspense and crazy moments. Contador was pleased with the riding of his team though, and was more than pleased with the result. A small bump to the knee is a small price to pay in the early going.
“It was an especially difficult day with the wind, which threatened to cause splits, but the team was super motivated and super concentrated in front of the bunch, which allowed me to go relatively smoothly and save strength. We finished the day without problems.”
Tomorrow’s stage will take the riders through the Belgian Ardennes and terrain more fitting for the four-time Grand Tour winner: “I prefer it to today’s stage, although I am very, very happy with how the day has been resolved. “