Alberto Contador reveals that he tried to make peace with Lance Armstrong before the 2009 Tour de France: "I have never had a relationship with him again"

One of the most memorable controversies in the recent history of cycling occurred in the 2009 Tour de France. Lance Armstrong was riding with Astana for the first time, sharing the team with Alberto Contador. As expected, sparks flew between the two - before 'El Pistolero' eventually won the yellow jersey.

Contador had net de vorige Tour en de Vuelta a España gewonnen, dus hij wilde de nieuwe editie van de Grande Boucle winnen. Maar dat botste natuurlijk met de belangen van Lance Armstrong. Beiden wilden koersen om te winnen. Over alle spanning die ontstond tussen de twee renners.

Contador, currently at O Gran Camiño, recently spoke on the podcast 'El Pinganillo' by Javier Ares: "It was complicated, but it was normal. If you have 2 riders with clear ideas, who both want to win the same race, you know that sparks are going to fly," he began explaining.

"At the time it was understandable that he wanted to win again. But the team also had to understand that I had the same desire. I had just won my last Tour de France, my last Giro d'Italia and my last Vuelta a España. I was looking forward to going back to the Tour de France and winning it again. But of course, I could only win one," added Alberto Contador, explaining the context.

"I think I was preparing myself mentally from the beginning of the year. The criticism on Twitter served as extra motivation for me to train even harder. What caused me all this is that I arrived at the Tour with the clear objective of winning the race," the Spanish cycling legend commented.

The bad relationship between the two was evident. That caused tension, not just between the two of them, but in the whole team. For that reason, Alberto Contador tried to talk to Lance Armstrong a day before the start of the 2009 Tour de France.

"When we arrived at the November training camp in Tenerife, where the official presentation took place, I saw how the team was totally focused on him. I thought: 'Look, it doesn't matter, all I want is my mechanic, my masseur, my trainer and my bike. I'll take care of the rest'. But from the first moment there was already tension. On my side, no, but if the other side is like that, nothing can be done," Contador explained.

"The day before the Tour de France I went to his room to talk to him. Our teammates were not as used to the pressure as the two of us. They were at the table in a situation that was not at all comfortable. I went to talk for everyone's sake, to make everything as smooth as possible. Unfortunately it was to no avail, but at least it was tried. I have never had a relationship with him again," he concluded.