Cyclingnews caught up with Alberto Contador of Tinkoff just a few days before the Tour de France to discuss all things Le Tour with one of the race’s big favourites.

“I’ve still got a few days left to go before the start so I’m fine,” Contador told Cyclingnews, when asked about his health. He was forced to miss the Spanish Championships at the weekend with a cold.

Contador says the Tour may possibly be more unpredictable than ever due to the really hard course. He says Chris Froome may take time in the opening stages, but the final few days will allow the race to be very close.

“I think it’s going to be a very unpredictable Tour because the route is so hard. If the past Tours are anything to go by, Froome may well be able to open a gap in the first few mountain stages. But then the last five stages are really hard and everything can change. It’s going to be wide-open until the very last day.”

Contador confirmed that his goal from the last few seasons has not changed: he is attending the Tour to win the race, anything less will be classed as not good enough by the Spaniard himself.

“Yes, yes of course. If I wasn’t, then I wouldn’t be motivated to train so hard for the Tour. The only thing I have in my mind right now is to fight for the win. I know that there are other very strong riders, others who have prepared it conscientiously, but let’s see what I can do. My goal is to win, that’s for sure.”

While much has been made about strong teams for Sky, Astana and Movistar, Contador says he too has a strong team and it is one he is very pleased with.

“I’m very pleased with them and I’m very confident about what they can do. The three key riders who’ll be with me in the mountains will be [Roman] Kreuziger, [Robert] Kiserlovski and [Rafal] Majka, and they are definitely riders who will back me up really well. At the same time, Peter [Sagan] is not a climber, but he’s going to be a hugely important factor in the Tour for us, he’s just the kind of rider you want to have riding with you when a race needs shaking up. Strategically, he could be crucial for me, particularly when I want to try and destabilize things. Overall, Tinkoff are going to the Tour with a very good team both for the flat and in the mountains and they’ll be able to help me out a lot when or if things get complicated.”