In an interview for the BBC Sport website, during his training camp in Gran Canaria, Alberto Contador (Saxo Tinkoff) said he could have died in his fall in the 2014 Tour de France. He talks about the 10th stage that will remain etched in his memory. While he was on course to fight for victory, he broke his right tibia and after riding on for nearly 20km, he eventually gave up.

"When I think I was going 77kmph at the time and I only broke my tibia, well, on balance, that's good," the Spanish rider said. "Maybe I lost the Tour, but I didn't lose my life."

"A lot of people have spoken about the crash and said things that aren't true," he added. "What I will say is you've got to concentrate for every second on the bike or you won't win the Tour." 

He described his crash: "At that moment, I relaxed, I looked ahead, saw the road was clear and reached back into my pocket to get something to eat. That's when I hit something in the road, my bike jumped and I lost control."

He is certainly eager to regain the Tour de France with a stronger team and the ambition to win.