Alberto Contador eyes tactical assault on Giro-Tour double
Spaniard - who won the Vuelta a Espana for the third time last year - is bidding to become the first person since disgraced Italian Marco Pantani in 1998 to complete the feat
Alberto Contador will begin his bid for a Giro d'Italia-Tour de France double today aiming to keep out of the limelight for as long as possible in Italy.
The 32-year-old Spaniard, who won the Vuelta a Espana for the third time last year, is bidding to become the first person since disgraced Italian Marco Pantani in 1998 to do the Giro-Tour double in the same year.
He last attempted the feat in 2011 and although he won the Giro, he faded to fifth in the Tour two months later.
The key to the Giro will be the Mortirolo. For me it's the key stage, with the Aprica, Tonale, Mortirolo and Aprica again
However, he was later stripped of both results when the Court of Arbitration for Sport found him guilty of ingesting the banned substance clenbuterol during the 2010 Tour de France and stripped him of all results from then onwards.
Even so, Contador will come into the race as clear favourite simply because his record in grand tours is so remarkable.
Of the 12 he has started, he has finished top of the pile in eight. Even after taking into consideration the results he was stripped of for doping, his record still reads six victories (two Tours, one Giro and three Vueltas) from nine.
But this time around, he is mindful of saving energy to be able to reach the Tour de France in top shape. To do so he says that he would rather not take the race lead until the final week, and even then as late as possible.