Alberto Contador has been continuing his preparation for his Tour De France by riding the ascent to Ordino-Arcal?s, the first and only mountaintop finish the race will have this year in this mountain range (stage 7).
Contador rode ths climb to Arcal?s three times last week making sure to commit all the details of the ascent to memory.
"It is a more suitable ascent for my characteristics than The Rabassa or Pla de Beret. There will nothing hard earlier in the stage, but we will come down with 200 kilometres in the legs and the forces will notice it. This will also to be on the seventh day of racing without having come to the first rest day," commented Contador.
"Once we pass Andorra la Vella, the road goes up and is getting steeper. Though there are some parts that permit recovery, this first section will be very fast. This continues until The Serrat, approximately 9.5 km from the summit, which is where the climb really begins. The first kilometres are the hardest, until a tunnel situated at 5 km to go. From here the road is a succession of ‘horse-shoe’ curves that don’t have too steep a gradient but the altitude will make them harder. The last four kilometres are over 2000 meters and many riders will pay for their efforts. It is a good enough climb for a climber," he concluded.
Website: Astana Cycling Team
