Contador eases Vuelta pressure on Vingegaard: "I don’t think he has anything to prove"

With Vingegaard at the start, it is therefore no mystery to Contador who the man to beat will be. “It's clear that he will be the favorite, and for me the absolute favorite,” the Spaniard told Eurosport. “But a lot can happen during a Grand Tour. It's already his second of the year after the Tour de France, so we'll have to see how he recovers. But in theory, he should be better than the rest of the peloton.”

That is, of course, also due to the absence of Tadej Pogacar from the start list of the Tour of Spain. “Everyone knows he's the second-best rider in the world in Grand Tours, after Pogacar,” Contador said. “I think it would be quite surprising if he didn't win the Vuelta. But at the same time, I don't think he has anything to prove after everything he's achieved in the Tour de France in recent years.”

Vingegaard can count on excellent support, as Visma | Lease a Bike has selected Sepp Kuss, Matteo Jorgenson, and Wilco Kelderman, among others. Whether the strong domestiques will be allowed to go for their own success at some point remains to be seen. Contador, for his part, thinks that Vingegaard himself might have a second mission.

“I think that, in addition to the GC, he will also try to win stages,” said the former Vuelta winner. There are plenty of opportunities for that, including for Vingegaard's teammates. “With ten uphill finishes, he can win a lot himself. Visma is an outstanding team with a big budget; they will want to win as many stages as possible.”

The Vuelta might open a door for Vingegaard after Pogacar once again beat the Dane in the Tour. Should he focus on other races? Should the Visma star change his calendar to focus on the classics? “Maybe not the Flemish races, but some others, why not?” says Contador. “He's a rider who can maneuver very well. He has a lot of speed, so that could be an option.”