Alberto Contador was easy to spot in his yellow kit.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Team CSC owner and director Bjarne Riis(Image credit: AFP Photo)
Teammates Alexandre Vinkourov and Alberto Contador chat before the start.(Image credit: Jean-François Quénet)
The brother and agent of Alberto Contador has poured cold water on Saxo Bank team boss Bjarne Riis' intentions to try for a Grand Tour Grand Slam with the triple Tour de France winner in the next two years.
Speaking to Spanish Eurosport on Wednesday, Fran Contador downplayed the Danish team manager's announcement. "I think this must have been a translation mistake," said Fran Contador when asked about the immensely ambitious plan to win all three Grand Tours in a single season. "To win the Giro, the Tour and the Vuelta in one year is quite simply impossible. We have always been clear: the Tour de France is the main objective and we will work towards this in the two coming years."
In the history of cycling, a clean sweep of the three major tours has never been done, not even by Eddy Merckx who used to win many races in a season alongside his five Tour de France victories. With two more Tour victories, Contador could join the prestigious ranks of five-time winners Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil, Merckx and Miguel Indurain, but it seems that he and his new team manager have yet to finalise the exact objectives of their collaboration.
Contador himself has not yet reacted to Riis' statements. The Spaniard has raced his last event wearing Astana kit, a post-Tour criterium in Castillon-la-Bataille on Tuesday, and is now taking a holiday before preparing for next season with Saxo Bank-SunGard.
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