7. All About Alberto
by Rebecca
Bell
Pay close attention! The following facts may appear on a test.
All About Alberto
On the Bike…
Words that best describe you: Ambitious and nonconformist
Your first victory: The junior Madrid championship in Colmenar
Viejo
Blackest day: July 1, 2006 (not allowed to start the Tour)
The day you rode “without a chain”: In the final stage of Paris-Nice
A mountain to attack: Col d’Eze
Idol: Armstrong
A place to train: San Martin de Vega y Chinchon
The ideal teammate: Ramirez Abeja
In his jersey pocket... A good luck charm from last year's Tour
How much longer do you plan to race? 9 or 10 years
…and Off
An obsession: always snitching slices of Bimbo bread (i.e. Wonder
Bread)
A virtue: joy
A fault: messiness
Favorite activity: hunting
Favorite music: Spanish pop
Recommended book: It’s Not About the Bike (Lance Armstrong)
Favorite film: Life is Beautiful
Favorite food: tortilla de patatas
Favorite drink: beer with lemon
Favorite vacation spot: Adelaide
I never leave home without…cycling clothes in my suitcase.
If I hadn’t been a cyclist, I would have been…a veterinarian.
(From Ciclismo a Fondo, April 2007)
A few more favorites from spring of 2007…
Best cycling moment?
The best moment is my victory in the stage in the Tour Down
Under.
Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate
Blondes or brunettes? Brunettes
Favorite car? Audi Q7
Pizza or sushi? Pizza
Watch for a quiz at Stage 18!
Enter to win a copy of Dancing on the Pedals: The Found Poetry
of Phil Liggett.
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Race Report, Stage 7
Bourg-en-Bresse - Le Grand-Bornand, 197.5km
“Tomorrow the battle continues, and each rider will have
to show his cards”
Contador finished Stage 7 in the front pack with the favorites.
None of the big names challenged for the win today, possibly saving energy
for tomorrow’s much harder stage.
“There’s been less to this stage than expected, but maybe it
was just that people were being sensible. Besides, when both the stage
win and the maillot were taken in a breakaway, it shaped the battle
behind.”
“If the stage win and the maillot had been in play among the
favorites, it would have been different. But it’s not the same thing
when you already know that everything has been settled up ahead,” explained
Contador.
“Tomorrow will be a more demanding stage, with three big hills
and more than fifteen kilometers straight up. Because it will finish
on the summit, there will be more of a fight, and each rider will have
to show his cards.”
Among the teams that shared the effort today, Contador was
surprised by the presence of Lampre. “Of all those working, they’re
the only ones I didn’t expect. It’s logical that Rabobank pulled its
share, having Menchov, Rasmussen, and Dekker. And Caisse d’Epargne:
I expected an attack at the end, but they chose to keep quiet.”
Contador also explained why CSC was not in the cooperating
group. “Sastre is more of a long distance rider, he prefers stages
like tomorrow. So today was a bit too soon for them.”
He was very satisfied with Discovery Channel, his own team.
“Levi Leipheimer feels really good, and on the whole, with Gusev, Popovych,
and me we’ve put four people out ahead. I think we’re riding well and
we’ll see what happens soon.”
Alberto’s Results
Stage 7 18th 3:38
Young rider 3rd 3:38
GC 11th
4:01
Young rider 5th 4:01
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