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Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
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Contador now happy Lance is on same team
Source: Agencies |
February 6, 2009, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ALBERTO Contador has had a change of heart about teaming up with Lance Armstrong.
When the 2007 Tour de France champion first heard that Armstrong was coming out of retirement and joining him on Team Astana, his initial reaction "wasn't very good," Contador said on Wednesday through a translator.
Contador now believes the squad is more than big enough for him and Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner.
"Now I'm very happy to share a team with Lance," Contador said during Team Astana's press conference in Santa Rosa, California. "I think you have to think things over, see how things develop.
"Sometimes in the beginning some things seem negative, but turn into something positive," he said. "I'm certainly very happy that he's on my team and not on another team. And to be able to learn from his great spirit, that can only make me stronger in the future."
Armstrong and Contador are taking part in Team Astana's 10-day training camp that began on Sunday. These new, high-profile teammates likely won't ride together competitively for Team Astana until the Tour de France.
Armstrong will compete in the Tour of California, a 1,200-kilometer, nine-day race that begins on February 14. Contador will return to Spain after the camp ends.
Armstrong did not attend the news conference.
The overriding question now was: Which man will be Team Astana's top rider when the Tour de France begins on July 4 in Monaco? The answer won't come until much later in the cycling season.
Armstrong retired from competitive cycling after winning his seventh Tour de France in 2005. In September, he announced he was coming out of retirement and reuniting with General Manager Johan Bruyneel, his team director during all of his Tour de France victories.
This training camp was as much about building team chemistry as it was preparing physically for races.
Last month, Armstrong finished 29th in his comeback debut race at the Tour Down Under in Australia.
When the 2007 Tour de France champion first heard that Armstrong was coming out of retirement and joining him on Team Astana, his initial reaction "wasn't very good," Contador said on Wednesday through a translator.
Contador now believes the squad is more than big enough for him and Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner.
"Now I'm very happy to share a team with Lance," Contador said during Team Astana's press conference in Santa Rosa, California. "I think you have to think things over, see how things develop.
"Sometimes in the beginning some things seem negative, but turn into something positive," he said. "I'm certainly very happy that he's on my team and not on another team. And to be able to learn from his great spirit, that can only make me stronger in the future."
Armstrong and Contador are taking part in Team Astana's 10-day training camp that began on Sunday. These new, high-profile teammates likely won't ride together competitively for Team Astana until the Tour de France.
Armstrong will compete in the Tour of California, a 1,200-kilometer, nine-day race that begins on February 14. Contador will return to Spain after the camp ends.
Armstrong did not attend the news conference.
The overriding question now was: Which man will be Team Astana's top rider when the Tour de France begins on July 4 in Monaco? The answer won't come until much later in the cycling season.
Armstrong retired from competitive cycling after winning his seventh Tour de France in 2005. In September, he announced he was coming out of retirement and reuniting with General Manager Johan Bruyneel, his team director during all of his Tour de France victories.
This training camp was as much about building team chemistry as it was preparing physically for races.
Last month, Armstrong finished 29th in his comeback debut race at the Tour Down Under in Australia.
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