level 7
Tour de France winner Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) admitted he hid worsening health problems in the final days of the race so rivals wouldn't pick up on any perceived weaknesses. The 24-year-old held on during the final time trial to win the Tour following the controversial expulsion of race leader Michael Rasmussen to become the first Spanish winner since 1995. "From the day of Aubisque I was hoarse and I had problems with my throat. Three days before the time trial, I was feeling bad and I was very worried," Contador told the Spanish daily MARCA. "When they asked in the press conference about my voice, I told them I was perfect so nobody would know." Contador also admitted he was struggling on the final mountain stage up the Aubisque when Rasmussen attacked him to win the stage and secure the yellow jersey, adding that teammate Levi Leipheimer was the stronger rider that day. "I was not going well and in the end I thought I could not make it, so I started to tell (Levi) ‘stop, stop' through the headphone," Contador said. "But (neither) he or Bruyneel heard me, so I thought, ‘well, we'll see how far I can go.'"
2007年08月07日 13点08分