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MALLORCA CHALLENGE
TOUR DE SAN LUIS 2012
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RACE WATCH 2011
The unforgettable Giro d'Italia
RACE WATCH 2010
Alberto's third Tour
RACE WATCH 2009
Alberto's second Tour
RACE WATCH 2008
The Year of the Triple Crown
TOUR DE SAN LUIS FINALE
January 29, 2012 - Argentinean race concludes with GC 2nd and two stage wins for Contador
Stage 7, January 29: San Luis – San Luis, 167 km
Alberto Contador finished with the pack today as Tom Boonen won the seventh and final stage of the 2012 Tour de San Luis. Boonen's teammate Levi Leipheimer took the overall victory.
The final podium offered something for everyone: Leipheimer, a big name from a top European team whom Contador described as being in superb condition, deserved his place on the top step. Contador rewarded the people of Argentina, who had welcomed him so enthusiastically, with 2nd overall and two stage wins (including the queen stage), as well as runner-up in the mountains classification. Finally, a hometown rider - Daniel Díaz of the San Luis Somos Todos team - brought honor to himself and his home race by earning the third sport on the podium.
RESULTS: Contador in Stage 7, 51st (s.t. Boonen). Contador in GC, 2nd (0:46 Leipheimer).
TOP THREE: 1 Leipheimer (22:38:18), 2 Contador (0:46), 3 Díaz (1:29)
COMPLETE CLASSIFICATIONS -
BETTINI PHOTOS
TOUR DE SAN LUIS, STAGE 6
January 28, 2012 - Contador continues into final stage in 2nd overall
Stage 6, January 28: Luján – Quines, 201 km
Alberto Contador maintained his second place in the general classification today in Stage 6 of the Tour de San Luis, but ceded the KOM jersey to Miguel Ángel Rubiano of Androni Giocattoli. The stage, the longest day on the road in this year's edition, was won in a sprint by Elia Viviani of Liquigas, with J.J. Haedo of Saxo Bank second.
RESULTS: Contador in Stage 6, 28th (s.t. Viviani). Contador in GC, 2nd (0:46 Leipheimer).
TOP THREE: 1 Leipheimer (22:38:18), 2 Contador (0:46), 3 Díaz (1:31)
COMPLETE CLASSIFICATIONS -
BETTINI PHOTOS
CONTADOR TAKES SAN LUIS QUEEN STAGE
January 27, 2012 - "If they'd told me at the beginning of the race that I was going to win two stages, I wouldn't have believed it"
Contador wins the queen stage of the Tour de San Luis (AC press room)
Stage 5, January 27: La Toma – Merlo (Mirador del Sol), 160.6 km
Alberto Contador got win number two today at the Tour de San Luis by prevailing atop the Mirador del Sol in Stage 5. Contador proved to be the strongest on the extremely tough ascent to the queen stage summit finish, and wound up leader of the King of the Mountains classification as well.
"I'm very happy. If they'd told me at the beginning of the race that I was going to win two stages, I wouldn't have believed it," he said.
"The Mirador del Sol," said Alberto, "felt like a very hard climb to me. I used a 36x28 gear, and that allowed me to climb well. Leipheimer is very strong and he's a worthy winner of the race, he deserves it. I wanted to try because you can always aspire to more – that's what I like to do – but when I started and I saw that I wouldn't be able to take back the minute that Levi had on me in the general, I preferred to save my strength and think about the stage. I won the mountain jersey, but that wasn't the goal: it was a consequence of the victory," Contador concluded.
(Official press release, Alberto Contador press room)
PLAYBOOK AND COMMENTS
A battle in the final kilometers played out as follows: Contador attacked out of a small group of rivals – including Vincenzo Nibali, José Serpa, Leipheimer and local boy Daniel Diaz – at around the 4 km mark, but was unable to dislodge race leader Leipheimer. Contador maintained over the next two brutal kilometers, sticking with the North American and the Argentinean as the others came unhitched on ramps of as much as 15.5%.
"We started the final climb very strong, the team went full gas because I wanted to try for the stage win. We controlled the escape's gaps," said Alberto at the post-stage press conference. "The final climb was very nice even though maybe a bit demanding for this time of year. I attacked in the final four kilometers to see if I could open a gap and do some damage, but I couldn't get the better of Levi. I decided to save my strength and wait until the arrival, since his form is impressive for this altitude, and to make a play for the stage win."
Diaz launched a scorching attack in last kilometer that promised to be a death blow to his star opponents, but Contador shut it down with authority. He accelerated with his trademark dancing-on-the-pedals style and outstripped Diaz on a slight curve just meters before the line.
"When Dani Diaz attacked, I calculated the distance and luckily I got past him before he got to the line. I'm happy with the result because I took a shot at it," he said.
Crossing the line, Diaz saluted modestly at having been able to arrive only two seconds behind the best climber in the world. Leipheimer lost only five seconds, and was content to keep the leader jersey.
Contador continued, "We carried out the strategy: to hammer so that the escape wouldn't succeed and to fight for the stage win, because I knew that it would be complicated to distance Levi," he added.
"You have to give the maximum for any victory, even more to measure up to a standard when you don't have your pedal stroke. I'm thinking about March, in Tirreno, Catalunya and Basque Country, but every time there's a race I like to do it well," he stressed.
Saxo Bank DS Philippe Maduit summarized, ”As the leading team, Quick Step took the responsibility of the pacemaking in the field and a whole lot of riders were simply exhausted as we hit the foot of the climb. Alberto made a relative early escape, first alone and later he was followed by Levi and Diaz while Schumacher and Nibali cracked on the final kilometers. It was a terrific re-match after yesterday's time trial and I guess there's hardly any better climber than Alberto in the peloton here and we're more than content with our two stage wins in the race."
RESULTS: Contador in Stage 5, 1st (4:19:59). Contador in GC, 2nd (0:46 Leipheimer). KOM leader.
TOP FIVE: 1 Leipheimer (17:27:52), 2 Contador (0:46), 3 Diaz (1:31), 4 Schumacher (1:36), 5 Nibali (1:50)
COMPLETE CLASSIFICATIONS -
BETTINI PHOTOS -
BARBOSA PHOTOS
PALMARES - OFFICIAL TOUR DE SAN LUIS WEBSITE
Alberto on the road to his second win in 2012 (AC press room)
CONTADOR: "I LACK HOURS ON THE TT BIKE"
January 26, 2012 - Stage 4 against the clock was a stinker but "tomorrow is another day"
Alberto tweeted this photo after the race, with the caption "These time trials in January can't be good! ufff ;-)" (@albertocontador)
Stage 4, January 26: San Luis – San Luis, 19.5 km (ITT)
Alberto Contador accepted his loss of the leadership of the Tour de San Luis with good grace today, after arriving sixth in the Stage 4 time trial. The crono, won by Levi Leipheimer, sent the leader jersey back to the Omega Pharma-Quick Step team, who have claimed it on three out of four days so far in Argentina.
"It was a hard time trial, for specialists. Cadence I've got, but I lack training and hours on the time trial bike," Alberto said. "Anyway, I'm happy. Yesterday's result was unexpected, today's was more normal," he added.
Today's 19.5-km course started on the streets of San Luis, ran out along the highway, reversed and retraced its path past the start house, and finished on a slight upward tilt to the Plaza Pringles. The January summer heat and a headwind on the ride back into town made the final three kilometers tougher.
Contador, as race leader, was the last to finish. With limited live coverage, world viewers waited on pins and needles to see him emerge into view in the final kilometer. When he appeared, he was, astonishingly, flanked by a presidential-looking escort of a dozen or more motorcycles. It was an impressive gesture of pride and affection by the hosts for the man from Pinto, but the distraction might have cost him seconds.
At any rate, Alberto finished the test in 23:24, 1:01 behind Leipheimer. "I'm very happy with the result and tomorrow is another day," he said sportingly.
He will sharpen his physical performance during the next few weeks. "The goal is not to be in form now, but rather in two months, especially in the Tour, and I also want to be at a good level in the races in March and April," he stressed.
After the stage, Saxo Bank DS Philippe Maduit explained: ”Leipheimer was the natural favorite to take the win today and he did a very good job on the time trial. As I mentioned before, Alberto is not in peak shape and that influences his performance today. And he doesn't have to peak at this moment. With yesterday's big win, he showed his great class by winning a mountain stage after six months' break from racing and that's more than we could have hoped for. Now, we'll focus on the next few stages taking one at a time."
The Tour de San Luis goes back into the mountains tomorrow with a summit finish on the Mirador del Sol.
RESULTS: Contador in Stage 4, 6th (1:01 Leipheimer). Contador in GC, 4th (0:57) Leipheimer)
TOP FOUR: 1 Leipheimer, 2 Schumacher (0:53), 3 Nibali (0:55), 4 Contador (0:57)
COMPLETE CLASSIFICATIONS - PALMARES
OFFICIAL TOUR DE SAN LUIS WEBSITE
CONTADOR SUPERB IN SAN LUIS STAGE 3
January 25, 2012 - Report: Alberto's unexpected victory the cherry on top of a perfect day for Saxo Bank
The new Saxo Bank kit modeled in victory (AC press room)
Stage 3, January 25: Estancia Grande – Mirador del Potrero, 168.2 km
Alberto Contador attacked on the slopes of the Mirador de Potrero de los Funes today and climbed to victory in Stage 3 of the Tour de San Luis, notching his first triumph of 2012. With the win, the captain of the Saxo Bank team moves into the race leadership.
"The stage was hard, with a hard climb," said Alberto at the finish line, "but we controlled the escape and everything went to perfection. But the one thing I didn't expect was to get the win."
"To tell the truth, I was better than I expected. I worked really hard; I accelerated until the finish. I was able to win by suffering and I'm very happy. It's a prize that I didn't expect."
Contador's first career conquest in the Americas was achieved on a sunny summer day in San Luis province, Argentina. The unfolding of the dramatic events of the day crackled through broken lines of communication. News of an interminable climb to the top of Nogoli, a perilous descent, and a split in the peloton filtered through from South America as the world clung to Twitter and a local radio broadcast via the internet, waiting for the climb of the Mirador de Potrero and the shortest verse.
Finally the words came: Contador attacks! Other aces countered in those final meters, but none could match his pace. Levi Leipheimer (OPQ) finished on Alberto's wheel, but lost four seconds in bonifications.
"At the end I had my doubts, and also before the race, because I've been without the bike for many months, since the Tour de France," he continued. "The first time that I trained was after the team training camp in Israel, in the second half of December."
"This was an unexpected victory because there were so few kilometers," said Contador, modest as usual. "All victories are important because behind each victory is a lot of work. The team has also been phenomenal because they didn't know that this is how things would play out."
Remembering the citizens who have rolled out the red carpet to welcome him far from his regular circuit, Alberto honored the locals with a dedication: "All victories are important, and I'd like to dedicate this one to all the people here, in Argentina, who have behaved incredibly to me these past few days. They are supporting me to the maximum."
Saxo Bank's directeur sportif, Philippe Maduit, described the action: ”It was a perfect day for us, with total control. Going towards the first climb, we were in the first line and we put Jesús in the breakaway on the climb and gained control of the pack on the descent, and reeled in the escapees before launching Alberto on the final ascent. He was superb."
"Naturally," Maduit added, "he's not going to be in shape for the Tour just now, but still he's the best. It was simply a great feeling watching him take off and take that first season win, and we'll try to defend the leader's jersey."
With Leipheimer and defending champion Vincenzo Nibali in close proximity, the stage is set for a nailbiter in tomorrow's 19.5-km individual time trial.
RESULTS: Contador in Stage 3, 1st (4:29:27). Contador in GC, 1st (12:45:14).
TOP FIVE: 1 Alberto Contador Velasco (12:45:15), 2 Levi Leipheimer (0:04), 3 Stefan Schumacher (0:19), 4 Daniel Diaz (0:22), 5 Vincenzo Nibali (0:36)
COMPLETE CLASSIFICATIONS -
BETTINI PHOTOS, STAGE 3
SAN LUIS: VICTORY ON MIRADOR DE POTRERO!
January 25 - Official press release: Alberto thanks his team for helping him to a tough win in Argentina
Alberto Contador's first winner's podium of 2012 (AC press room)
Stage 3, January 25: Estancia Grande – Mirador del Potrero, 168.2 km
Alberto Contador managed a win today on the Mirador del Potrero, the first summit finish of the Tour de San Luis, where he sprinted with his ex-teammate Levi Leipheimer to take the stage and the race leadership.
Alberto said, after mounting the podium, that he was "better than I expected, because I had my doubts, since I've gone so many months without riding the bike, after the Tour de France. I started training after the training camp in Israel, in the second fortnight of December, but in spite of everything, we did a good job and got a victory that was rather unexpected for me."
Contador said that all victories "are important and I'd especially like to thank the work of my team for this one, because it was complicated for me. But I had to respond after the work that my teammates did, it was my responsibility. This victory comes at a special moment, but all victories are special."
Alberto also thanked his hosts for the reception that he's had in Argentina in general, and specifically in San Luis province. "I'd heard very good things about this race, and I recommend it to everyone. The people are incredible and even though I can't satisfy everyone with photos and autographs, I thank you all for how you've received me."
The leader of Saxo Bank knew this climb because he had done reconnaissance the day before the race began. "I viewed it from the car because it rained heavily that day, but I still didn't know just how it would be. We've made a little selection, but I had doubts. I certainly didn't really know what it would be like, nor how the rivals would be doing. But everything turned out well. I couldn't leave without trying."
Finally, Alberto Contador pointed to Leipheimer as "the strongest for the general. He looks very fit and well-trained. For me, this victory was important, but there are other riders who are more likely favorites than I am, for the time trial tomorrow and for the general."
AUDIO COMMENTS (SPANISH)
(Official press release, Alberto Contador press room)
TOUR DE SAN LUIS: RACE ATLAS
VI Tour de San Luis, January 23-29, 2012
Maps, profiles and information about the stages of the Tour de San Luis
GO TO RACE ATLAS
TOUR DE SAN LUIS: SAFE HOME IN STAGE 2
January 24, 2012 - Sprint today, mountains tomorrow
Alberto Contador survived another rough day on the road today in Stage 2 of the Tour de San Luis, finishing 45th in a bunch with 155 other riders. Francesco Chicchi (OPQ) took his second photo-finish sprint in a row, this time over his own teammate Tom Boonen. Contador’s Argentinean teammate J.J. Haedo maintained his second place overall by finishing fifth. Contador now ranks 20th in the GC, at 0:20 (as a result of bonifications) behind Chicchi.
“It was a day exclusively for the sprinters, and very nervous,” he said after the stage. “After what happened yesterday, everyone wanted to arrive with the sprint and I had to dodge crashes again. It was a complicated day, even though it was short. Luckily I didn’t have any problems and I didn’t crash, and I’m already thinking about tomorrow.”
Tomorrow’s stage to Mirador de El Potrero de los Funes is the first of two summit finishes in this edition of the Tour de San Luis, and Alberto’s first chance to stretch his legs on an ascent in 2012.
“It’s going to be good for me to know what my level is. I think there’ll be better riders than I am. It makes sense, since I’ve only trained a little, and we’ll just have to see what result I get,” he said.
Contador has warned that he does not plan to be a factor in the general classification, and so he will tackle the mountains in Stage 3 without pressure. Nevertheless, at only 20 seconds off the lead, he is in a competitive position after two stages.
RESULTS: Contador in Stage 2, 45th (s.t. Chicchi). Contador in GC, 20th (0:20 Chicchi)
COMPLETE CLASSIFICATIONS - PHOTOS - MORE PHOTOS
TOUR DE SAN LUIS, JANUARY 23-29, 2012
Alberto Contador's first race of 2012
TOUR DE SAN LUIS official website
Riding for Saxo Bank in Argentina: 1 Alberto Contador, 2 Jesús Hernández, 3 Juan José Haedo, 4 Lucas Sebastian Haedo, 5 Matteo Tosatto, 6 Troels Vinther, 7 Christopher Juul Jensen
WET AND JITTERY START TO SAN LUIS
January 23, 2012 - Hail fell like marbles, Contador punctured but survived the day
Alberto Contador finished Stage 1 of the Tour de San Luis today with good marks, landing 21st at the finish line in a group with Vincenzo Nibali and other GC favorites.
Saxo Bank's velocista, Juan José Haedo of Argentina, came within a hair of winning the final sprint, which was taken by Francesco Chicchi (OPQ) in a photo finish. Chicchi netted ten bonus seconds with the win.
Heavy rain, wind and hail pelted the riders throughout the stage. There were numerous crashes as a result, in fact, the summer storm brought the peloton to a halt in the early kilometers.
After the stage, Alberto said, "We came looking for warm weather and sun, but what we found was cold and rain. We had to stop for a while because of the hail; hail was falling like marbles. It's been a more complicated stage than we expected. There was quite a bit of tension."
As if the foul weather and jitters weren't enough, he also punctured. "Coming into the finale there was a crash. I avoided it, although I punctured at around 40 kilometers to go when the peloton was riding hard. It nearly spoiled things, but in the end we recovered, and afterwards we decided to take responsibility for the peloton," he said.
Contador arrived in a front group of 33 riders who survived a split in the peloton, and he was unaware that important competitors like Visconti and Pozzato had been left behind.
"In the end, it all turned out well The peloton split and I don't know who got left behind. I felt good physically and I give it a thumbs up," he concluded.
RESULTS: Contador in Stage 1, 21st (s.t. Chicchi). Contador in GC, 22nd (0:10 Chicchi).
COMPLETE CLASSIFICATIONS - 52 PHOTOS BY ROBERTO BETTINI
Web design by Nicky Orr and Modem Operandi. Masthead photo credits: (1) bbc.co.uk (2) Liz Kreutz, kreutzphotography.com.