Contador says he won't be a factor in San Luis

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Alberto Contador may be the star of the show at the Tour of San Luis in Argentina, but don't expect him to claim the overall at the end of the race. The Spaniard says he is still losing the weight he put on after this year's Tour de France, and won't play a role in the overall rankings.

“It is difficult now to go up against such well-trained men as Levi Leipheimer and Vincenzo Nibali,” he told Het Nieuwsblad. Nibali, with Liquigas, won the race in 2010.

“After the Tour I did nothing,” Contador said.  “I gained 7.5 kilograms. I have already lost four at the Saxo Bank training camp in Mallorca, but to be able to climb fast, you should be at your ideal weight. “

Still, Team Saxo Bank hoped to see him do well in the mountains,although the team is looking to brothers JJ and Sebastian Haedo to do well in the sprints in their homeland tour.

“We've put together a very versatile and powerful line-up. For the sprints we have both Haedo brothers and of course they're extremely motivated to perform on home ground and JJ seems very slim and focused,” said sports director Philippe Mauduit on the team's website.

“Even though it's early in the season, we can't hide the probability of seeing Alberto (Contador) do well on the climbs and on the time trial halfway through the race. Personally, I'm looking forward to be following our two debutants, Troels (Vinther) and Chris (Juul-Jensen) while Matteo (Tosatto) will be leading the battle on the road. The main goal is simply getting a stage win.”

The Tour of San Luis starts today and runs seven stages through January 29.