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ON THIS DAY AT TOUR DE FRANCE 2007

We few, we happy few... (Elizabeth Kreutz, KreutzPhotography, The Paceline)

July 24, 2007 - Rest Day

The crucial sequence of events in the Pyrenees was broken by a rest day before Stage 16--the queen stage climb up the Aubisque.

Discovery Channel team photographer Elizabeth Kreutz was busy capturing images of the lighter side of life in the Tour peloton, as the guys did light training and relaxed in Pau.

You can see her Tour 2007 photographs at thepaceline.com

Christine visited the team in the Village du Tour several times during the three-week race:

"I spoke to the podium girl who gives Alberto every day the white jersey from Skoda, and she said that she spoke to Alberto several times and he’s very nice and always wants to know how the people around him are feeling. So he’s a very nice person." (Christine, France)

GO TO ALBUM

Join us every day during the Tour de France for an album of photos and anecdotes from Alberto's incredible triumph at Tour 2007.

This year's Tour de France is a bittersweet three-week journey for Contador fans. We will never forget Alberto's experiences during the past year, and the events that have brought us to this moment.

Do you have a favorite memory from last year's Tour, or a story you'd like to share? Let us know.

Send us your thoughts, at contadorfans@hotmail.com

VUELTA A ESPAÑA: RUBIERA INJURY UPDATE

July 22, 2008

Astana's Chechu Rubiera, a crucial member of the 2008 Vuelta squad, was injured during last week's training camp in Asturias.

While his website, CHECHURUBIERA.INFO, is on holiday this week, check this space for news about his recovery.


From Chechu to his fans today:

Hola amigos.

I hope you are well. As you know, I had a bad crash on Friday.

Since then, I couldn't train well. I just tried to train a couple of days. Bad: I was riding my bike as fast as I used to ride when I was 5 years old... So definitely I'll stop for a few days.

I did an x-ray on my knee and the good news is that nothing is broken.

I have to take antibiotics because of the injury (abrasion), and the knee is swollen so I have to take anti-inflammatory too. I hope to be on the bike in two or three days preparing for the Vuelta.

Thanks for your support once again.

Chechu

Leave a message of support for Chechu at his MESSAGE BOARD.

(Photo of Chechu at Tour of California by Cathy Mehl)

TOUR DE FRANCE 2008

July 22, 2008

OPINION: Graham tells it like it is...or would be

Graham Watson believes that at this Tour, Contador--graceful, powerful mince-meat-maker--would dash the favorites to pieces like a potter's vessel.

In his opinion at the Astana team website, he asks what Astana's likely feats would be if the team were at the Tour de France where it belongs.

Example: About Stage 17 to Alpe d’Huez, he says, "This would be a Contador showpiece, an epic move on the Tour’s most legendary ascent that would extend Contador’s overall advantage. Quite simply, whoever wins this Tour – be it Schleck, Evans, or Menchov – they are doing it in the knowledge that it is a gift made from heaven."

Go BEHIND THE LENS

FAN REPORTS

Christine Kahane visited the departure of the Tour de France stage at Nîmes.

She reports on some favorite ex-Discovery Channel riders, and the local color in the start town.

"The departure of the stage took place in the beautiful historic setting of the Arenas where bullfights are programmed from time to time in the summer but, unlike the Spanish, the French forbid the “coup de grace” and here bulls are never put to death or even badly injured."

Go to FANS NOTEBOOK

Bruno Lopez Vizcon lives in Asturias in the north of Spain, home to Contador's teammates Chechu Rubiera, Benjamin Noval, and Dani Navarro.

Asturias is also home to the monster peak in this year's Vuelta a España, the Anglirú. When the Astana team arrived Thursday to preview Vuelta Stages 13 and 14, Bruno was there with his camera.

Go to FANS NOTEBOOK for PART TWO of his report, and an interview (with photos).

Go to CHECHURUBIERA.INFO for PART ONE of Bruno's story and more great photos.

(Above: Bruno and Contador at Fuentes de Invierno)

ANGLIRU

Contador and Navarro boxed in by hungry journos (REUTERS)

July 18, 2008 - Five Astana riders scaled the Angliru around noon yesterday in a pre-Vuelta campaign designed to give Contador the key to conquering the monster mountain. They were not alone.

The press had been given ample notice of the training ride. A serious day of work for Contador and team (Chechu Rubiera, Benjamin Noval, Dani Navarro, Sergio Paulinho, and DS Alain Gallopin) was transformed into chaos as a result.

A crush of motos and cars jostled for position along the route, angering the riders and jeopardizing their safety. Rubiera crashed amid the distractions, injuring a knee.

The ad hoc caravan was not the carefully orchestrated work of professional race organizers, to whom safety is the number one concern. It was a media feeding frenzy, mad for glimpses of Contador and Astana not available at the Tour de France.

Note to press corps: STAY HOME until the Vuelta.

VUELTA 2008: THE PYRENEES WON'T DECIDE THE RACE

Alberto Contador completed a training foray into the Pyrenees Thursday. His mission: to study Stages 7 and 8 of the 2008 Vuelta a España.

“These are not mountains for pure climbers. The only danger is that if you’re not on a good day, you could lose the general. But I don’t believe they’ll be decisive in winning the race."

See IN THE PRESS

NEWSLETTERS

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To receive newsletters, contact us at contadorfans@hotmail.com

QUOTES

Contador confessed to Pinto's Zona Sur.info that his mom Paqui was really happy to see him in pink at the Giro.

"My mom always wanted another girl, and when I was little she dressed me in pink."

"In the Giro, she was quite satisfied during the whole second part of the race to see me dressed in the maglia rosa," he explained, laughing.

EL PAÍS INTERVIEW

In a career sweet spot between back-to-back Tour/Giro victories and tackling the Olympics/Vuelta duo, Alberto talks things over with Carlos Arribas of EL PAÍS.

"A race as beautiful as this one, riders fighting on equal footing…an explosion by one guy on one day, and the next day somebody else…It’s good for everybody."

"All countries, Spain in particular, take their lead from their champions. If there’s no scandal in the Tour and the Vuelta, it will be really, really good."

Read about it IN THE PRESS

NEXT RACE

Clásica San Sebastián - August 2; Olympic Games (Beijing) - August 9-13; Vuelta a España - August 30-September 21

(Provisional calendar)

¡CADA CARRERA CON CONTADOR ES TAN BUENA COMO EL TOUR!

(photo, Reuters)