No Armstrong, No Problem For Contador
MADRID, Jan 20, 2010 (AFP) Tour de France champion Alberto Contador, buoyed by his undisputed number one status following his rocky relationship with Lance Armstrong, hailed his new-look Astana team on Wednesday.
The Spaniard insisted that the 2010 Astana model had “nothing to do” with the 2009 line-up, which catered for the high-profile comeback of seven-time Tour de France winner Armstrong.
“This year, the team is based more around me and that’s thanks to Yvon Sanquer (team manager) and Giuseppe Martinelli (sporting director)”, said Contador.
“Last year, there were a lot of riders to dispute the big races and this year that is not so much the case.”
In the new season, Contador will ride alongside Kazakhstan’s Alexandre Vinokourov and his Spanish compatriot Oscar Pereiro.
Armstrong left Astana to spearhead the new RadioShack team with former Astana riders Levi Leipheimer, Jani Brajkovic, Andreas Kloden and Yaroslav Popovych.
On his uneasy relationship with Armstrong, Contador said: “I have great respect for him as a rider and competitor.”
Contador will start his season on February 17 at the Tour of the Algarve.
Categories: Features, Road
Tags:
BMC Working Well
Leave a Reply