Contador sees Schleck as favorite for 2010 Tour

by Bjorn Haake at 2:57 AM EST

Alberto Contador looks to be the Dominator for the Tour de France in coming years, but has named Andy Schleck as his favorite for the 2010 version of the race.

Contador said that the parcours is tailor-made for the Luxemburger and the lack of time trialing, a discipline where Contador is superior to Schleck, will make things harder for the Spaniard. "If I want to stay ahead of Andy, than I have to work harder than I ever did before," Contador told the Telegraaf.

The route with focus on the Pyrenees to celebrate the 100th year of the first appearance of the Tourmalet is good for the powerful younger of Schleck brothers. "The upcoming Tour is definitely to the advantage of Andy. The focus is on the mountain stages, there are merely two time trials. The long time trial is on the penultimate day, where the condition will make the difference. For a specialist time trialer like me it is harder to make a difference."

This answers Schleck's claim that he will have a hard time passing the Spaniard next year. The two nice guys try to shove the favorite's role to each other - it should be an exciting race in 2010. Of course they will also have to keep in check the challenges from others, such as Lance Armstrong.

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