The season for La Liga has run its course. Football is disappearing and cycling’s grand tours are taking over as the sport of choice. Alberto Contador will take the baton from Messi, Ronaldo and company. But that will be in July. At siesta-time, in the Tour.
 
You allowed yourself to abandon your monastic life in order to enjoy a Madrid-Barça game?
 
I was there. I was with my father because we had a special wish. My family is from Madrid, but I knew that Barça was playing in an unbelievable way. What Messi does is really amazing. It’s great to watch this team just to see Messi.

You played football, you know what that’s all about. And beyond that, you’re a Real Madrid fan. You’re such a star yourself, and yet you praise Messi—that’s nice.
 
There’s a play that he repeats millions of times, coming from the right, dribbling two or three times and...he always gets a good result. It’s difficult to do what he does.
 
How many times has David Bisbal told you that he doesn’t regret stopping cycling?
 
Millions of times. Sometimes he reminds me of when he had to go out training in a headwind in Almería... But what he does isn’t easy either. Between promotional events and concerts, he doesn’t have a second. His life is hard too.
 
You’ve been through a lot for your age. A cavernoma, your professional career hanging in the balance due to Operación Puerto, success, the clash with a legend like Lance Armstrong, loneliness. You’re 27 years old but you seem to have been through 50...
 
I don’t consider myself old. I feel rather more mature than a young person my age, but I like and I get excited about the same things as other people. I’ve had to make difficult decisions and instead of making me older, what’s happened is that I’ve assimilated these experiences. Now I know how to differentiate what’s a problem from what’s not. I’ve learned how to make myself concentrate and to skip what’s not important.
Has some psychologist taught you the way?
 
No, luckily I haven’t needed it. I’ve been learning with the situations that I’ve had to face. Each one contributed something. I take advantage of what’s positive and forget the negative.
 
You’ve always been crazy about your little brother – he suffers from cerebral palsy. Have you ever thought that it’s unfair and hard that he has to live this life?
 
There are four of us siblings and the youngest has been the one that brings us all together. My father’s the one who’s the most occupied with him. He’s dedicated so many hours that in the end it wasn’t worth it to keep working. And the truth is that nobody is better than he is at taking care of him. My mother usually says that the world is parcelled out in a very uneven way. I’m an elite-level athlete who’s at the top of the world and my brother, on the other hand, has to depend on someone else 24 hours a day. These are the great differences that there are in life… and with someone so close. I believe that all that has also made me mature since I was a little boy. I think about what’s important.
 
It’s not normal that the best grand tour rider has only one week of vacation because his girlfriend works and it doesn’t coincide with your competition schedule.
 
Well... it is normal. Maybe some people might think it’s unnecessary, but she wants it like that. She wants to work becuase I spend so much time away from home. And I think it’s good. If she were always at home it would be detrimental to both of us.
 
Since you won your first Tour, in 2007, you haven’t changed. You’ve only allowed yourself a few materialistic whims…
 
I don’t see why I should change. Because people flatter me? I haven’t found it difficult to stay the same. My friends are the same. And also my familiar surroundings. It makes no difference whether I win the Tour or win 10 Tours. They’ll still be there, with me, and always treating me the same. And I’ll keep being this way. I’ve allowed myself some things that I like, like cars. I can’t help it.
 
Independently of physical condition, what do you have to be like to be an ideal champion?
 
First of all, an amiable person. Look, I remember  that when I was an amateur I approached a great rider to congratulate him and the truth is that he made a face that was not very nice. My brother was with me, and I said to him: “Fran, if someday when I’m a professional you see me doing this, slap me.” I always keep in mind that there are people, fans, kids, who hang around for hours and hours just to be able to shake my hand or ask for an autograph. A little effort, always provided that it’s not physically impossible, means such a great deal to them.
 
Would Induráin be the model of a champion?
 
Miguel was a complete gentleman. And the test of that is that everybody has good memories about him. People speak about him with a lot of respect.

I’ve seen you in very difficult situations. You’ve had to cope with press conferences that were truly difficult, but you’ve never stepped out of character. Do you train for that?
 
I imagine that experience ends up influencing it, but overall you have to keep your temper, have a calm demeanor so you can respond to everyone or, if it’s really off base, to be able to say: “Another question, please.” In some very complicated press conferences, I’ve terminated the questions because they repeat one question over and over. You have to live with it, with the repercussions, with the pressure, with the mass media and with questions that sometimes are not as agreable as you’d like.
 
Does a Tour winner have to be more honest than any other athlete?
 
It’s not about being honest. You have to think that you owe people something and have a responsibility. A winner of the Tour has to be an example to others.
 
Do you find it touching when a child asks you for an autograph?
 
Yes, of course. I enjoy them. When you see one that needs 15 minutes to get over being timid and embarrassed before coming up to you, and then he tells you that he wants to be like you when he’s older... that’s nice, isn’t it?
 
Are you working with some charitable organization?
 
We’re going to create the Alberto Contador Foundation, which will be dedicated to working with stroke-related illnesses, but we’ll be furthering the use of the bicycle. Now we’re already with the “Cycling for Life” campaign. We’ve got tons of bicycles here, forgotten in junk rooms and garages. Theses same machines, repaired, in Africa, could be vital for thousands of people. We hope to channel these ideas by means of the Foundation. Another line that we want to promote is cycling at the grassroots level in Spain, which we believe is rather forgotten. In the professionals, we’re enjoying the best time in history, but the base is pretty lifeless. It’s important that we athletes use our popularity for good causes.
 
 
 
When you approached Armstrong for the first time, in the Dauphiné in 2005, and introduced yourself to him, you said that he seemed “nice.” Do you still think the same thing?
 
I remember that moment perfectly. I’ve only introduced myself to three riders in my life. One of them was Pantani, in the Clásica de Amorebieta. It was his last year. Another occasion was to Jan Ullrich. With Armstrong, it was the first time we were ever together in the same race. I used my English, and the relationship was even friendly. But with time you start to see the big picture. He defends his own interests very well and does it well…
 
Admit it, if Armstrong hadn’t come back, your reign would’ve been very calm. You’d even get bored...
 
It would be more boring for the public. Seriously, at the level of media impact, it’s been much much better owing to the rivalry that there was in the last Tour. But in order to be sincere, if before starting they would’ve given me a choice, I would’ve signed up for a more normal race in which everything went more calmly.

Do you see yourself at 37 or 38 saying that you’re coming back to professional cycling in order to satisfy your ego?
 
No, absolutely not. I’ll stop cycling when I see that the level doesn’t correspond to the results that I’ve gotten until now. The norm is 32 or 33, but I don’t see myself at 38 on a bike. Each champion has his era. You think about it and ask yourself, “Do I need this?”
 
Who’s the best cyclist in history?
Eddy Merckx, without doubt. I’ve seen old videos and he was really savage.
 
I understand that when you started you admired Pantani. Do you sit and chat with his director, Martinelli, sometimes?
 
Yes, he’s told me some stories. You can spend hours talking about Pantani. He was a great champion. Martino was always on his back. I still remember the way he would drop the entire peloton. The other day I was watching a video that compared his climb of the Peyresourde to mine, in the Tour. I liked it a lot. Pantani was out of this world. He attacked from way, way out. He was incredible. But what attracted my attention even more was that he climbed mountains gripping the handlebars from below. After watching that video, I tried to do the same thing and I couldn’t. I ended up with terrible leg pain. I still wonder how he was able to do that.
 
Marco was the only one who truly unnerved Armstrong because he couldn’t be controlled...
 
Doesn’t surprise me. He was the best climber and he could put you in a tight spot any time. His level allowed him to disarm an entire team.

Alberto, what would you change about your career if you could? 
 
Nothing. I’m one of those people that thinks that when things happen you have to overcome them because they help you to mature. It’s a learning experience.

Did Operación Puerto make you cry?
 
Yes. I cried because of powerlessness and because of rage. It put me in an unsolveable situation, something beyond comprehension. In the beginning you think that it’s impossible, that it’s all a lie, that it can’t be true. And afterwards you think that sooner or later the situation, which has neither rhyme nor reason, will be clarified, but it hurt me a lot.
 
What do you think of the situation that Alejandro Valverde is going through?
 
It’s the consequence of bad organization in cycling. Sincerely, I think that four years after all the talk began, it should be left alone. If we’re looking for the good in cycling, I don’t think that it’s positive to keep talking about this subject. Valverde has proven his quality by far and he’s still a winner. I think that the best thing would be to let it rest.
 
After your illness, do you enjoy everything more?
 
Yes, things that I never considered before are much more important to me. For me it’s much easier to be a cyclist now, with how hard it turns out to be. I even manage to enjoy suffering on a bicycle.

Do you still send your mother an SMS after every race?
 
If I forget, she pulls my ears.