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VUELTA A ESPAÑA STAGE 6

September 4, 2008

Welcome to the Carlos Sastre Show! Carlos's guests today are Alberto Contador and Alejandro Valverde. (EFE)

Was this a classics race or the Vuelta? The top ten made you wonder: Bettini (1st), Gilbert, Valverde, Freire, Rebellin...

The end of the course said Belgium, not Spain, and the nervous peloton rocked and rolled in multiple crashes. Valverde nabbed another little sprint bonus. He looks good, but can he climb La Rabassa? Contador can.

Alberto lost a few seconds. He's still 4th in the GC, now at 0.57. Astana leads the team competition.

Rest day and media circus for Alberto tomorrow, Pyrenees on Saturday. It's what you've been waiting for.

STAGE 6 REPORT HERE

Perspective on Spain (Diego Tuson/AFP/Getty Images)

VUELTA A ESPAÑA STAGE 5

September 3, 2008

ALBERTO ASCENDS, LEVI TRIUMPHS



Do not fear the helmet logo...unless you're riding the Vuelta! (Rodolfo Espinosa/MARCA)

Alberto rode an impressive 42.5 km time trial today, for him the culmination of the first phase of Vuelta 08.

But the man who amazed was his teammate, Levi Leipheimer. Leipheimer dominated the TT--it's not the first time--and went to the top of the leader board, gold jersey and all.

Does it throw a wrench into the works for Contador to have to compete with one of his own? No.

Leipheimer:

"Personally, I believe Alberto is the best climber in the world.

"He has something that nobody else has: He can accelerate in the mountains. He can follow the best riders and I think Alberto will continue to get better as the Vuelta continues. He hasn’t raced much since the Giro, but he is the leader of the team. He has won the Tour and the Giro and we are now all here to help him win the Vuelta.

"For me, I won a stage, I wear the leader’s jersey ... It’s very nice for me, but I think Alberto is the strongest rider on this team.”

STAGE 5 REPORT HERE

CADA CARRERA CON CONTADOR ES TAN BUENA COMO EL TOUR!

TEAM RUBIERA AT LA VUELTA

A fantastic thing is happening at our partner website, CHECHURUBIERA.INFO.

Members of Team Rubiera are in Spain supporting Chechu Rubiera in his farewell tour. They're covering the race from Granada, Cordoba, Asturias, and Madrid, sharing everything they can absorb in the host cities and out on the course.

Christine Kahane has already written titilating reports from the first three days. And the photos! Nothing like 'em anywhere else.

So far, we have her to thank for photos like this...



Christine and Alberto before the TTT (photo by Christine Kahane)

...and it was Chechu's idea to pose for this shot with Alberto, especially for the Notebook:



The two best cyclists ever, Alberto and Chechu (photo by Christine Kahane)

Plenty MORE at Chechu's site.

VUELTA ROSTER FOR TEAM CONTADOR

August 27, 2008

Astana has announced its roster for the Vuelta a España, August 30 through September 21.

Riding with Contador will be Levi Leipheimer, Andreas Klöden, Chechu Rubiera, Benjamin Noval, Sergio Paulinho, Dimitriy Muravyev, Assan Bazayev, and Tomas Vaitkus.

The team arrived in Granada today for the start of the Vuelta on Saturday.

The majority of these riders appeared last Sunday at the Clásica a los Puertos, where Astana took the top two podium spots.

A notable absence on Sunday was Alberto's primo escudero Benjamin Noval. Noval missed the race to attend the christening of his godson, Unai Sanchez, the son of Olympic gold medalist Samuel Sanchez. Baby Unai is four months old.

VUELTA ENGINES ROAR AT CLÁSICA A LOS PUERTOS

August 24, 2008

Contador’s Astana team snatched the first two places in the Clásica Internacional a los Puertos de Guadarrama today. American champion Levi Leipheimer finished first, followed by Contador himself, 41 seconds later.

“It was a good test, since the race was insane from the beginning and demanded a good effort. I’m happy with the sensations I’ve had and I think I’m showing good form for the Vuelta a España,” Contador said after the race.

Leipheimer and crackerjack gregario Chechu Rubiera broke away early with 15 others for a two-minute advantage. Alberto—comfortable on the route through his regular training grounds—bridged the gap on the climb of El León. After stretching his legs and stirring up some nervous tension in the group, he fell back with the main peloton until the slopes of the Cat. 1 Navacerrada.

There he escaped and flew to the leaders’ group, where he launched another practice attack. Leipheimer went away for real, riding the last 10 km with no one in close pursuit.

“At the first escape I really had to hammer to bridge up. Later, when I made contact, they kept me on a short leash. I attacked, then Leipheimer, and the manuever got a great result. We got very good marks on this test.”

At day’s end Alberto was pleased all round. “It was nice to race on my training circuit in the Sierra de Madrid. I’m feeling good and I’m very happy to see that my teammates are in great shape, too. We’re excited about starting the last grand tour of the season on Saturday.”

Later Contador blogged at his OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

"Clásica a los Puertos: TODAY WAS A GOOD DAY. I wanted to confirm that my sensations are good, and that’s just what happened.

"At the beginning there was an escape and I had to come from behind on the climb of El León—it really pissed me off. Then another group broke away, so we waited for the peloton so the team could narrow the gap before the Navacerrada; after some good teamwork I attacked and made contact with the four guys in the escape.

"After several attacks my teammate got the victory and I was second. The really important thing has been the good sensations coming up to the Vuelta.”

For more about the race, go to RACE WATCH.

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

ALBERTO'S BLOG

August 21, 2008

Alberto is now writing his own personal blog at his OFFICIAL WEBSITE. So far the blog is Spanish only, but we'll try to keep you up-to-date in English. Today's entry:

Getting ready for the Vuelta

"Hola, everybody - First of all I want to send a big hug and a world of support to the people affected by the plane crash at Barajas. These last few days before leaving for Granada I’ll be at the team training camp in the Sierras, where we hope to find the optimal form to tackle the Vuelta. Regards"

GO TO MÍ BLOG

CONTADOR AIMS FOR TRIPLE SLAM

August 20, 2008

Spain’s Alberto Contador is looking forward to the Vuelta a España, which will run from August 30 to September 21. His goal is to become one of an exclusive group of cyclists who have won the overall title in all three grand tours.

After winning the 2007 Tour de France and the 2008 Giro d'Italia, Contador aspires to the greatest victory his own country has to offer.

“I’m looking forward to the Vuelta with desire and hope, and the intention to fight for the victory. Imagine, having the Giro, the Tour, and Vuelta in my palmarès at the age of 25. I also really hope I can win in my own country,” Contador told DT Magazine.

Among his chief rivals in the Vuelta will be the winner of the last Tour de France, Carlos Sastre. Contador doesn’t think, however, that the battle for the Vuelta will be reduced to two combattants.

“I don’t think it will be mano a mano between Sastre and me. Several top riders will fight for the victory, “ he said.

He also praises Sastre’s deeds in the Tour. “I especially like it that the triumph went to someone like him, who has improved little by little all his life. It’s the crowning achievement of his career,” says Contador, who still asks himself what would have happened if the Tour had not excluded Astana.

“I would have liked to ride the Tour, for sure. When I saw the mountain stages on TV, I wondered what it would have been like for me if I’d been there.

"But I’m not jealous. It’s meant more to me to win the Giro than a second Tour. And now I have a chance at the Vuelta, besides the Olympics. It’s a better year than it would have been otherwise.” (Europa Press)

EIGHT SECONDS FROM BRONZE

August 19, 2008

Journalist Marcos Lopez was in Beijing last week for the men's race against the clock. His story "Contador se queda a tan solo ocho segundos del bronce" appeared in many Spanish periodicals.

Now we have it in English, thanks to a little translation help from Christine Kahane.

GO TO BRONZE

INTERVIEW

August 18, 2008

How's Contador's Vuelta form? Was it worth a trip to Beijing just to get a little time trial experience? What's most important to him about his new official website?

Find out at ALBERTOCONTADOR.ES .

Or see our TRANSLATION.

"I can see that my preparation for the Vuelta a España is on target and that I've improved enormously in the time trial, which gives me peace of mind regarding the other climbers. I need to fine-tune my form, but I believe that I can arrive at the Vuelta in very good shape."

OLYMPIC GAMES BEIJING

REPORTS - RESULTS - PRESS - PHOTOS

See our Olympics section for more about Contador in Beijing.
GO TO OLYMPIC GAMES BEIJING

(photo: MARCA)

To my dear dad, Bob Bell (April 14, 1931 - August 7, 2008)

"Finis vitae sed non amoris"

28th CLÁSICA SAN SEBASTIÁN

August 2, 2008

RESULT: After a race break of two months, Alberto Contador finished in 26th place, just 1' 48" behind winner, Alejandro Valverde.

Go to RACE WEBSITE

Next race : Olympic Games (Beijing) - Aug. 9-13; Vuelta a España - Aug. 30-Sept. 21

FAN REPORT

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 Angliru. Bruno visited Astana's Asturias training camp in July and took his camera.

Go to CHECHURUBIERA.INFO for PART ONE of Bruno's story (with photos).
Go to FANS NOTEBOOK for PART TWO, an interview, and more great photos.

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

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(photo, Reuters)