LES ESSARTS, France, July 3 (Reuters) - Three-times champion Alberto Contador is biding his time until the mountain stages of the Tour de France after losing more ground to rival Andy Schleck in Sunday’s second stage.
“The Tour can be lost every day, but it is won in the mountains,” said the Spaniard whose dominance in the mountains is such that his deficit of one minute 38 seconds on his Luxembourg rival is nothing he cannot overcome.
“Everybody sees me as the overwhelming favourite but some riders like Andy or (Cadel) Evans are in a better position,” the 28-year-old Spaniard told reporters after the second stage, a 23-km team time trial in which his Saxo Bank team finished eighth, 24 seconds adrift of Schleck’s Leopard-Trek.
Contador lost 1:14 to Schleck in Saturday’s first stage after he was trapped behind a big crash and he limited the damage on Sunday despite having a team that was not designed for time trials.
“I stay focused just the same,” said Contador, who won the Tour last year despite losing more than a minute to Schleck on a flat, cobbled stage in the first week of the race. “The Tour continues and we’re here, focused.”
Contador, who is awaiting the result of an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the Spanish federation’s decision to clear him after a positive test for clenbuterol on last year’s race, said he was feeling better by the day after the exertions of winning the Giro d’Italia in May.
“Every day I recuperate a bit more from the Giro,” he said. “The legs are good and that is what motivates me. They’re better every day.”
Contador lies 75th in the overall Tour standings, 1:42 behind leader Thor Hushovd of Norway, while Schleck is 10th four seconds off the pace, with Australian Evans in second place one second behind Hushovd.
“The Tour can be lost every day, but it is won in the mountains,” said the Spaniard whose dominance in the mountains is such that his deficit of one minute 38 seconds on his Luxembourg rival is nothing he cannot overcome.
“Everybody sees me as the overwhelming favourite but some riders like Andy or (Cadel) Evans are in a better position,” the 28-year-old Spaniard told reporters after the second stage, a 23-km team time trial in which his Saxo Bank team finished eighth, 24 seconds adrift of Schleck’s Leopard-Trek.
Contador lost 1:14 to Schleck in Saturday’s first stage after he was trapped behind a big crash and he limited the damage on Sunday despite having a team that was not designed for time trials.
“I stay focused just the same,” said Contador, who won the Tour last year despite losing more than a minute to Schleck on a flat, cobbled stage in the first week of the race. “The Tour continues and we’re here, focused.”
Contador, who is awaiting the result of an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the Spanish federation’s decision to clear him after a positive test for clenbuterol on last year’s race, said he was feeling better by the day after the exertions of winning the Giro d’Italia in May.
“Every day I recuperate a bit more from the Giro,” he said. “The legs are good and that is what motivates me. They’re better every day.”
Contador lies 75th in the overall Tour standings, 1:42 behind leader Thor Hushovd of Norway, while Schleck is 10th four seconds off the pace, with Australian Evans in second place one second behind Hushovd.
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