Contador eyes Tour of Spain crown

Tour of Spain contender Alberto Contador has played down his favourite tag as he prepares to make his debut in his home race starting today.

"I want to see how well I can do, but that's as far as it goes," said the leader of the Astana team.

"I'd like to win it before I retire, but I'm only 25, I've got a lot more years of racing ahead of me.

"Also, I've never ridden the Tour of Spain before and that lack of experience could weigh against me," he said. "For now, I'm just one of the contenders for the overall victory."

Already victorious in the Tour de France 2007 and the Tour of Italy in 2008, Contador's goal is to become the fifth rider and first Spaniard to win all three major Tours.

He missed out on defending his Tour de France title this year after his team, Astana, were barred from starting because of doping scandals in 2007.

Since beginning racing for the team earlier this year, Contador has won the Giro and also finished second in his most recent event, last weekend's Vuelta a los Puertos.

His biggest challenger is likely to be compatriot Carlos Sastre, who went on to win this year's Tour de France after taking a solo win on the infamous Alpe D'Huez climb.

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