Albert Contador managed to arrive in Belgium for the Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, after a long overground journey. Contador, fresh from winning the Vuelta Castilla y León, is not considering himself a favorite, but will try to take valuable lessons for the Tour de France.
After his arrival, Contador and his teammates rode the last 60km. "There are climbs that I already know from 2007," Contador said. He finished 54th back then. "But there were some changes in the final. Today was a nice day, we saw it all and now only the legs have to respond."
Contador said that he could remember the Mur de Huy from three years ago - sort of. "It appeared to me harder than I remember. There are some 700 incredible meters."
The favorites for him are those who did well at Amstel, "riders like Philippe Gilbert, Cunego, Ivanov, but also others like Alejandro Valverde." Contador instead will first have to see how he recovered from Castilla y León and the travels from Santiago. "It is difficult to draw conclusions after a journey of almost 2000 kilometers. Today, my form was not the best, but I am confident that tomorrow things will change.
Contador is also curious about Liège on Sunday. "That race is much longer, so riders are more tired in the final. The total elevation gain is also much more. I hope to do well there and get to know these races better, but there are certainly riders who are more experienced and mentally ready, so I can start calmly."