Tour de France winner Alberto Contador has acknowledged his Astana team is severely weakened after Lance Armstrong’s departure and the mass exodus of riders that followed the American to RadioShack.
“I know that right now we’re not at the level of Armstrong’s RadioShack [team], but the atmosphere is great and the desire to work hard is there,” Contador said at a preseason training camp on Friday, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport’s Web site. “Let’s discuss it again in a few months.”
Contador wasn’t interested in rehashing his intra-squad rivalry with Armstrong this year.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“I’m focused only on 2010. The past is past,” he said. “I’m not interested in the polemics.”
Of Astana’s nine-man team at this year’s Tour, eight are now on Armstrong’s new RadioShack squad.
Contador can count on Alexander Vinokourov, who is back from a two-year doping ban, and recently signed former Tour winner Oscar Pereiro.
Armstrong’s top teammates include Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloeden.
“There are a lot of rivals for the 2010 Tour,” Contador said. “In 2009, Andy Schleck was the one who made me sweat the most, but I’m going to keep an eye on Leipheimer.”
Former Astana team director Johan Bruyneel also joined RadioShack and Contador did not appreciate how Bruyneel and Armstrong plotted their new team throughout last season.
The Spaniard said he would prefer a transfer system similar to that in European club soccer, where teams pay transfer fees to acquire players.
“Pay a fee and the rider can be freed. Maybe the teams won’t be in agreement, but that’s what I think,” Contador said.
Contador said he would make debut next season by attempting to defend his title at the Tour of Algarve in Portugal in February.
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
‘SETTING THE TONE’: Donovan Mitchell said that their determination to dominate had nothing to do with past results, but was about a potential post-season clash The Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc. “I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with
BELGIANS ADVANCE: Club Brugge gave Atalanta a lesson in efficiency, as Gian Piero Gasperini’s team had 29 efforts at goal, compared with seven from the visitors Seldom has a player’s sending off had such an influence on a game. AC Milan was to left rue Theo Hernandez’s second yellow card — for diving — as Feyenoord advanced to the UEFA Champions League last 16 at the former European champion’s expense with a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff on Tuesday, giving the Dutch team a 2-1 win on aggregate. Bayern Munich, Club Brugge and Benfica also won their playoffs, eliminating Celtic, UEFA Europa League winner Atalanta BC and French team AS Monaco respectively. “In soccer everything changes in a second,” said Milan forward
RSS