Spaniard Contador wins tainted Tour

PARIS: Spaniard Alberto Contador now has two things in common with Lance Armstrong, but the exploit of winning the Tour de France's yellow jersey is what he wants to remember most.

Contador secured his first overall victory in the race after Sunday's 20th and final stage to Paris, which he finished with a 23-second lead on Australian Cadel Evans.

Only three years ago, the Discovery Channel rider was not even considered a contender for his local criterium race in Madrid following what turned out to be a providential accident.

A crash in the Tour of Asturias stage race in 2004 saw Contador end up in hospital, where doctors discovered he was about to suffer a brain hemorrhage.

After a life-saving operation, he returned to training six months later and soon began fulfilling the promise first shown by his under-23 national time trial crown, when he was still only 19 years old.

Having battled cancer to come back and win the race seven years in a row, Armstrong would empathise with the trials Contador endured.

But while the Spaniard admitted the story of Armstrong's long fightback from illness proved an inspiration, he is keen to write his own chapter in history.

"Lance was a role model for me. I read his book in the hospital when I was recovering," said Contador on Saturday after his fifth place finish in the race against the clock which virtually secured his overall victory on Sunday.

"(But) the only thing we have in common is a victory on the Tour de France, although he's got seven and I only have one so far."

After leaving hospital, Contador was called up to the ONCE team run by Manolo Saiz, who, in the past year, has become 'persona non grata' in the sport due to his links to the 'Operation Puerto' doping affair.

Contador went from strength to strength, with a series of professional victories in 2005 which culminated with a respectable 31st on his Tour debut.

The year 2006, however, was less rosy for Contador.

After stage wins in the Tour of Romandie and a stage in the Tour of Switzerland, his entire Liberty-Seguros team, including Kazakhstan's Alexandre Vinokourov, was evicted from the Tour de France after five of their riders were implicated in the Puerto affair.

Contador was later cleared of any involvement by a Spanish court.

A day before his victory here on Sunday, French newspaper Le Monde made claims that Contador's name was still linked to the Puerto affair.

The Spaniard claims he is "100 percent clean".

"I was in the wrong team at the wrong time and somehow my name got among the documents, but the UCI (International Cycling Union) corrected the mistake and now I've got no link to Puerto," said Contador.

A superb climber who has shown on both of the Tour's time trials that he can also race against the clock, Contador's triumph on the Champs Elysees is a timely one for his team manager Johan Bruyneel.

The Belgian, who thanks to Armstrong and Contador has now won eight of the past nine editions of the race, is looking for a new sponsor after Discovery's recent decision to pull out at the end of the season.

Bruyneel meanwhile waved off the suspicion surrounding his star rider.

"As soon as a rider races fast, he's a suspect," said the Belgian.

"But I know what Alberto is worth. I know his qualities and I've seen how hard he works at training.

"The people who suspect him had better buckle up, because he's going to be around for a long time yet."

Spain, which has become disaffected with the sport due to the numerous damaging doping scandals, will be feting their first home winner since Miguel Indurain won the last of his five consecutive yellow jerseys in 1995.

Contador looks to have many good years ahead, but the Spaniard, having looked death in the face, wants to take it one year at a time.

"A lot of riders before me have won the Tour without coming so close to death," he said. "It's not the right time for me to look so far into the future."

AFP

(China Daily 07/31/2007 page24)