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RIDING WITH ALBERTO CONTADOR
Brad Roe
January 15, 2010
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On Thursday morning I had a chance to meet Alberto Contador and join Team Astana for the first part of their training ride in the beautiful town of Calpe, Spain. Calpe is a training hub for Pro Tour teams with Quick-Step, Garmin-Transitions and Rabobank all training here for the next few weeks. Alberto was gracious and dropped back into the group of journalists sprinting to hold on to the fast pace of the Astana crew. I'm happy to report I made it about 45-minutes before I got popped off the back. To tuck in behind the team on the narrow roads overlooking the sea, the wind blowing, Valencia orange trees lining the roads, put a huge smile on my face. And of course, once dropped, I found a nice spot for coffee, a snack and some reflection on the day.
For those who only know Alberto Contador as a rider in opposition to Lance Armstrong, there is much more to his story: His comeback from a brain injury in 2004 that almost ended his career. His hero status in Spain and his work with children outside of Madrid. At 27 years-old, he has won every Grand Tour and is now hoping to whip his new Astana teammates into shape to defend his Tour de France title. On a personal note, he's focused and intense, but humble, smiles a great deal and laughs easily.
At his press conference he let the world know a few things: He doesn't follow Lance on Twitter (to be fair he follows "0" people on Twitter). He will race the Tour of Missouri. He thinks there are 10 people who can win the 2010 Tour de France and has seen his power increase since switching to a Specialized Tarmac SL3 a few weeks ago. His greatest victory? He said it was his stage win at the Tour Down Under in 2006 after his brain injury because he knew he was healed and could race again.
 Alberto Contador's new Specialized Tarmac SL3 wit Zipp 404's, SRAM Red, FSA post and bar and a Selle Italia SLR Team Edition saddle.
 Alberto talks to the press in Calpe, Spain.  The team went out for a long day in the mountains. We ended up going 70k and to the top of the mountain in the distance. Ouch. This climb is actually part of the Tour of Valencia race course.
 The non-riding portion of Calpe isn't so bad either?
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