Cycling Racing News and Opinion
August 14, 2014

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Alberto Contador Will Start Vuelta a España

I received two press releases this morning, both saying Alberto Contador will be on the startline of this year's Vuelta on August 23. One was from his team, Tinkoff-Saxo, and the other from Contador's press officer. I'm posting them both, in full.

Contador injured his knee after crashing in stage ten of this year's Tour de France while descending at high speed.

From Tinkoff-Saxo:

Tinkoff-Saxo and Alberto Contador happily announce that the Spanish captain will go to Jerez for the start of Vuelta a España after progressing in his recovery following the high speed crash in Tour de France. Alberto’s improvement in the knee-region has allowed him to train for just under two weeks but it hasn’t been until recently that the two-time winner of the Vuelta has been able to train without pain.

“I haven’t been training on my bike for more than ten days and yesterday was the first day, where I was able to climb a mountain pass without pain in my knee”, says the leader of Tinkoff-Saxo from Lugano and continues:

“It excites me, motivates me and has led me to make the decision to ride the Vuelta a España”, says Alberto, knowing it will not be easy. “I know it will be a Vuelta that I'll have to do in a very different way than I had imagined earlier on in the season and during the first part of the Tour. But I think it’s the right decision considering the end of season and the start of next season.”

For Alberto Contador, the problem is the lack of competition, having spent many days without training with a fresh wound in his right knee as well as the fractured tibia.

“Perhaps in the last week of the Vuelta I can be fighting for a stage win. I still hope to improve in terms of my physical shape. I'll try to do my best in the last week before the start and I look forward to seeing you all in Jerez”, concludes Alberto Contador.

After Alberto ruled out Vuelta a España due to complications that arose during his recovery, great work done by the team's physiotherapists and the collaboration of technicians from Indiba to Compex has achieved what seemed impossible.

The work of the doctors at CEMTRO Clinic in Madrid has also been fundamental to Alberto’s swift recovery, both in terms of the fast diagnosis of the injury, which allowed discarding the need for surgery, and in the subsequent treatment of the wound, which was reopened a week after the accident. A surgeon traveled from Madrid to Lugano to treat Alberto. He reopened the wound, did a deep cleansing of dirt and removed small stones that were left inside after the treatment at the emergency room in France.

“Thanks to the work of all the specialists, who have treated me I could recover in record time. I am deeply grateful to all of them”, says Alberto Contador.

Alberto Contador and his bandaged right knee.

From Contador's press office:

Alberto Contador has decided to take the start at the next Tour of Spain,
after recovering from the injury that he suffered in the last Tour de France,
which has allowed him to train again, but not for many days. “I've
been riding the bicycle for ten days and yesterday was the first day I could
climb a mountain pass without knee pain”, said the leader of Tinkoff-Saxo
from Lugano.

“That excites me, motivates me and has led me to make the decision to ride
the Tour of Spain”, says Alberto, knowing it will not be easy. “I know
it's a Tour of Spain that I'll have to do in a very different way than I had
thought earlier in the season, or as I planned the Tour de France, but I
think it can be very good considering the end of season and to start next
year with guarantees”.

The problem is the lack of competition, having spent many days without
training and still having the fresh wound in his right knee, forcing him to
await developments. “Perhaps in the last week I can be fighting for a
stage win", he says, because still he hopes to improve a little his
physical shape. "I'll try to do my best in this last week before the start
and see you all in Jerez!”, concluded Alberto Contador.

After virtually ruling out the Tour of Spain due to complications that arose
during his recovery, the great work done by team's physiotherapists and
the collaboration of technicians from Indiba and Compex, which have been
made available to Alberto Contador, has achieved what seemed impossible.

Also the work of doctors of CEMTRO Clinic in Madrid has been fundamental,
both for the fast diagnosis of the injury, which allowed avoiding
surgery, and in the subsequent treatment of the wound, which reopened a
week after the accident. A surgeon traveled from Madrid to Lugano for a
new cure. He reopened the wound, did a deep cleaning of dirt and some small
stones that were left inside after emergency cure done in France, and
returned to stitch the wound after removing the dead skin debris that
could have stopped proper healing. “Thanks to the work of the specialists who
have treated me I could recover in record time. Am deeply grateful to them
all”, says Alberto Contador.  

Lotto-Belisol's team for the Vuelta

From Lotto-Belisol: On Saturday the 23rd of August the 69th Vuelta starts with a team time trial in Jerez de la Frontera. After 21 stages, on Sunday the 14th of September, this edition comes to an end with an individual time trial in Santiago de Compostela.

Lotto Belisol has selected the following nine riders: Sander Armée, Vegard Breen, Bart De Clercq, Jens Debusschere, Adam Hansen, Greg Henderson, Pim Ligthart, Maxime Monfort and Jurgen Van den Broeck.

BMC rider Darwin Atapuma recovering from TDF crash

And finally, this note from BMC:

BMC Racing Team's Darwin Atapuma headed home to Colombia this week to continue his rehabilitation and recovery from a broken leg suffered in a crash at the Tour de France last month.

Atapuma and teammate Tejay van Garderen were two of several riders who crashed near the end of Stage 7 on July 11. Atapuma broke his left femur, knocking him out of his first Tour de France. After undergoing surgery in France, he recovered at his Italian home before traveling to Park City, Utah, in the United States to begin physical therapy and rehabilitation under the team's supervision. "He did very well here," BMC Racing Team Chief Medical Officer Dr. Max Testa said. "He is still walking with crutches, but has started riding a bike indoors. Hopefully, in three weeks he can start riding outside. He is actually ahead of schedule, so we are very happy." Atapuma said he was thankful for the support he has received from both the team and the many fans who have wished him well. "I am happy because I am feeling better day-by-day," he said. "I am aiming to be ready for the team's December training camp in Spain and after that to have the screws in my leg taken out in Germany."

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