Alberto Contador once again proved to be getting into good shape as he managed to keep up with Chris Froome on the Xorret de Cati climb of stage 8 in the Vuelta a Espana.
Contador demonstrated his personal mantra querer es poder – where there’s a will, there’s a way – and threw caution to the wind, bolting out of the group of GC favorites on the steep gradients of the iconic Xorret de Cati climb.
“I stayed with Woods, and I knew Froome would change rhythm, and when he came, he changed rhythm indeed, and we dropped Chaves,” said Contador. “I stayed in his wheel, but there was one moment where I preferred to stand up to not let the gap grow too big when I sat down. I took a deep breath and shifted and managed to close the gap.”
“That I could follow Froome is a sign that I am good, but we didn’t tackle a really long climb yet,” pointed out Contador, still cautious about how he will feel in the upcoming days. “But yeah, it’s still a pity that I lost time in Andorra, but we will keep taking this Vuelta day by day, and keep enjoying it. I feel quite well and, in general, I can say that normally I feel better every day. Let’s wait and see.”
“Tomorrow the finish is on another steep, short and explosive climb. I didn’t see it yet, but they told me Dumoulin won there before so I will take the opportunity to take a look at it tonight on the internet and other than that I will rest up for tomorrow,” said Contador.” I will keep battling for that stage win; today the break made it till the end, so we keep taking it day by day.”
