Fitness and team goals a consideration before selection
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Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) finishes atop the Izoard(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) with his second Prix de la Combatitive of the Tour(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) riding away from the yellow jersey(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) on the wheels of Simon Yates and Louis Meintjes (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) showing the signs of his crash(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
As he comes to the end of a bruising Tour de France, Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) will turn his attentions to the second half of the season, with a tilt at the Vuelta a España on the cards.
The Spaniard has raced his home Grand Tour four times, winning it on three occasions, and, after finishing 10th at the Tour, his major objective of the 2017 season, the Vuelta would represent a 'second chance' for him and the team.
Cyclingnews understands that both parties are keen on the idea, though both are at pains to point out that nothing has yet been decided.
"We need to get to Paris first. Then we can analyse how his energy levels are," Trek-Segafredo team manager Luca Guercilena told Cyclingnews. "For now let's finish the Tour de France."
At the end of a Tour where crashes once again derailed Contador's overall ambitions, the 34-year-old put in an impressive performance to finish 6th on the penultimate-day time trial in Marseille.
Provided he feels physically fit, the main obstacle would be team selection.
"For us, as a team we have some sprinters who've not raced for a while, and the general idea for the Vuelta was to chase stages over there," said Guercilena.
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Contador, however, would require at least half of the team at his disposal for support in the key stages in the fight for the general classification.
"In the team there are various interests. We also have good sprinters so the compatibility isn't always perfect," he said. "If I go to the Vuelta, I'd want to go to try and win it."
Trek-Segafredo directeur sportif Steven De Jongh suggested that it's Contador's decision to make, and that the line-up would be arranged accordingly.
Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023, latterly as Deputy Editor.
