Alberto Contador surrounded by his Tinkoff-Saxo teammates(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) crashed out of the Tour on stage 10(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alberto Contador (Tinkoff Saxo) abandons stage 10 after a crash(Image credit: AFP Photo)
Alberto Contador consults with Bjarne Riis at the Tinkoff-Saxo training camp in Gran Canaria.(Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Alberto Contador (Tinkoff Saxo) may have waved his participation in next month's Vuelta a España goodbye, but his team boss Bjarne Riis moved to keep the door open by insisting that more time is needed before a final decision can be made.
Contador crashed out of this year's Tour de France and was diagnosed with a fractured tibia. Although he avoided the need for surgery due to a clean break of the bone the Spaniard set himself the lofty goal of competing in the Vuelta a Espana. Real Madrid's medical staff were consulted and all looked on course before Alberto Contador took to Twitter on Wednesday morning, stating that his wounds were failing to heal in time and that the Vuelta was off the table.
"I think it's a little bit early to say. He knows that it's going to be difficult but lets wait and see. He had a bad day, his wounds are not healing and he's had some problems. Of course he's pessimistic and I understand that but let's see in a week."
Contador has not yet returned to riding and was set to take another week off the bike. Yesterday Riis told Cyclingnews that caution was required and he seemed to reiterate that stance once again.
"We have to wait and see. There's still a long way to go and a lot of healing needed so I don't want to get into speculation and at the end of the day that's all it is at the moment. He's the guy feeling the pain and maybe in a few days it will be better."
The incentive may be to rush Contador back to racing sooner than he's ready, especially given both his Tour de France fortune and his early season dominance in a number of stage races. However Riis stressed that no corners would be cut.
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"I'm not going to risk anything on him. The focus is on the moment we're on now. There's a focus on next year too but there's a long way to go until then. I hope he races again this year though. It will be a shame if he doesn't."
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
