In spite of having suffered continuous setbacks owing to the last-minute ban on use of his new time trial bike and being forced to prepare urgently an obsolete frame in order to continue his quest for the title, Alberto Contador proved that he is a rider who thrives in the face of adversity. It was also thanks to the swift reaction of Specialized and his mechanics that he was able to rise to this difficult challenge facing him in his first race of the season.

But Contador wanted more than anything to highlight the merit of his team, who proved to him at the season\'s first opportunity that they’re up to his level. “It was a very important victory for the team’s morale,“ he said after the stage, referring to his teammates’ fine work. “This race is extremely important, especially for my team, because they’ve done an excellent job during the entire tour. We’ve had to take responsibility knowing that other riders who were flying under the radar might be able to win the race, but they\'ve worked their butts off, every one of them. They’ve ended up very tired, but we’re very happy,” repeated the leader of Astana.

Contador said that he feels “very happy, because the results have been really good. I had my doubts, especially yesterday, when I tried out the bike and it felt pretty bad. This morning we made some adjustments and it was a little better, but I still had my doubts. Mainly, the bike was very different when I stood up, but things went very well and in the end the results were good, and I’ve been able to remain leader.”

About the significance of this victory for him, he said that he didn’t know “if I was going to get it, because I was fine, but I didn’t know in regards to the other riders who were coming with more miles in their legs. I’m very happy because it’s always a confidence-booster, especially for my team.” To finish, he referred to the next race on his calendar, Paris-Nice, where he’ll “keep working with the Tour in mind. I hope to arrive in good form, but there are also other riders and other teams very interested in this race. I’ll go and do the best I can,” he concluded.