Contador wins Tour of the Basque Country

Spain’s Alberto Contador, riding for the Astana team, on Saturday won the Tour of the Basque Country after clinching the sixth and final stage, a 24km time trial around the town of Zalla.

It was the second straight Tour of the Basque Country title win for the defending Giro d’Italia and Spanish Vuelta champion.

“It’s incredible how I continue to progress in my time trial work,” said Contador, who took part in the event as part of his preparations for the Tour de France

“Two, three years ago this would have been impossible. I am a typical climber, in theory we are not so strong in time trial work. This gives me confidence for the next goal, the Tour de France,” he added.

Contador won the testing stage in 31 minutes 59 seconds with Team Katusha’s Toni Colom in second place, 22 seconds behind.

Fellow Spaniard Samuel Sanchez finished third, 45 seconds adrift.

Contador won the 2007 Tour de France but was unable to defend his title after switching to Astana as the team was prevented from racing last year due to alleged doping misdemeanors by former members of the team.

MADRID, AFP