Spanish rider Alberto Contador will try to become the first man since 1998 to win the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France in the same year. He would also become just the third rider in history to hold all the three Grand Tour titles at the same time, as he claimed the overall victory in the Vuelta a Espana last year. So far no rider has ever managed to win all three Grand Tours in the same season.
The Tour de France starts on Saturday and Contador is ready to go, even though he isn't sure that his body has recovered after the three weeks of riding in the Tour of Italy. Contador said: "In my head I feel motivated. How my body will react is a new challenge. If I were to win the Tour full stop, it wouldn't change my career so much but something that people can remember is winning the Giro and the Tour in the same year." Marco Pantani, the legendary Italian rider, was the last man who won the Giro and the Tour in the same season, in 1998.
Contador has won the Tour de France in 2007 and 2009. This time it will be extremely difficult as there will be plenty of strong rivals to deal with. Vincenzo Nibali, who won the tour last year, will be looking to defend his title, Chris Froome is trying to win the Tour again after his success in 2013 while Colombian climber Nairo Quintana is also among the favourites. The 102nd edition of the race kicks off on Saturday 4 July in the Dutch city of Utrecht.
Here are the outright odds at Bet365 for the top five Tour de France favourites:
Chris Froome - 2.62 Nairo Quintana - 3.40 Alberto Contador - 5.00 Vincenzo Nibali - 5.50 Thibaut Pinot - 26.00
Shumar4life
8 years ago
Contador is favorite here and I believe that he has quality to get into the legend. In other hand we saw so many surprises in this sport in last couple of years with so many scandals, and I don't have a trust hat everything is regular in this sport. But I will support Contador because of this record
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Johnajax 8 years ago
I think that Contador can do this. He is live legend of this sport and I think that he is only driver who can do this. I know that he is not in the best form and he is not firs favorite of this race but he have heart of champion and in situation like this that heart can win race and not legs and form. I will be with Contador...
I think that Contador can do this. He is live legend of this sport and I think that he is only driver who can do this. I know that he is not in the best form and he is not firs favorite of this race but he have heart of champion and in situation like this that heart can win race and not legs and form. I will be with Contador and I hope that he can do this :)
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sharpe
8 years ago
For sure Contador is ready and have his chances to do the historic double but I think the decisive role will have not only the form his opponents but also the teams of every one of the contenders for the yellow jersey. In the past years most of the riders who have had participate in the Giro were in awful condition then...
For sure Contador is ready and have his chances to do the historic double but I think the decisive role will have not only the form his opponents but also the teams of every one of the contenders for the yellow jersey. In the past years most of the riders who have had participate in the Giro were in awful condition then on the tour. The difference this year is that Alberto had a good rest after Giro'd Italia not participating in many races so definitely he have all the chances to make history on this years tour.
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