Having recovered from the bug that prevented his start at the Criterium International, Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) will take to the start at the Vuelta al País Vasco, which starts on Monday in the middle of the Basque Country.

The race holds pleasant memories for Contador who has won the race twice, in 2008 and 2009, even collecting up two stage wins on each occasion.

Whilst he would have preferred to take part in the Criterium International, Contador still feels he is in good shape for the six-day race.

Contador will meet tough resistance from rivals such as Euskaltel-Euskadi’s Samuel Sanchez, who won last year, as well as Paris-Nice winner Richie Porte (Team Sky) and two former País Vasco winners: Andreas Klöden (RadioShack-Leopard) and Juan Jose Cobo (Movistar).

“The race is much more than Samuel and me,” Contador said on Radio Euskadi. “There’s a very high level of participation and Richie is clearly in great form and will be looking for more success here.”

With only one relatively flat stage, stage two to Vitoria, Contador said: “All the other stages are really difficult. The two in Beasain (stages five, with ten classified climbs, and the stage six time trial) will be the most decisive, even more than the two mountain top finish stages (stages three and four).”

Cyclingquotes.com will be bringing you live coverage of the action from the Basque country every day.