Contador to make two key changes in 2014

Following a mostly disappointing 2013 season, Alberto Contador has started the preparation of 2014 when he hopes to reclaim his title as the world's best stage racer. To reach his target, he plans two key changes to his preparation for the Tour de France: an earlier start to his training and a later racing debut.

When Alberto Contador returned to competition after his ban for his positive test for clembuterol at the 2010 Tour de France, many expected the Spaniard to return to his winning and dominant ways in the biggest stage races.

Contador may have won the Vuelta a Espana shortly after his comeback but apart from that success, there has been very little reason to celebrate for the Spaniard. His 2013 season ended as a near disaster as he only took a single win on a stage in the Tour de San Luis and finished 4th in the Tour de France.

Contador has now set his sights on a return to his former strength in 2014 when he will once again be the leader of the team which will now be known as Team Saxo Bank. As it was the case in 2013, the Tour de France will be his major objective, with the Spaniard hoping to repeat his 2007 and 2009 wins in the world's biggest bike race.

Contador has received lots of recognition for this desire to win all races he enters. While many riders do a lot of races purely for training, Contador is always doing his utmost to actually win the events.

In 2013, that strategy may have been costly and Contador has long ago stated his desire to postpone his race debut in the coming year. In the past, the Volta ao Algarve was usually his first race of the season but in 2012 and 2013, he started racing at the Tour de San Luis in January.

Contador claims that the early race debut is one of the reasons for his below-par performances and so the Spaniard which change things in 2014.

"There will be two major changes compared to the past two years," he told ESPN Deportes in an interview. "I'm going to start training earlier than I did in the past and I will start racing in the second or third week of February where in the last two years I have begun my season in January at the Tour de San Luis. This year we postpone it to February to have a good base and grow slowly towards the big goal in the Tour de France."

While Contador is mostly known for his exploits in the grand tours, he has been the dominant stage racer since 2007. The Spaniard has conquered races like the Paris-Nice, the Vuelta al Pais Vasco and the Volta a Catalunya in the past (although the latter win has been taken away from his due to his positive test) and while he will postpone his race debut, he still plans to target the big weeklong WorldTour races in the spring.

"The goal is the Tour but not just the Tour," he said. "It is the whole season. From the first race of the year, I have a full season with important races like Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico, the Volta [a Catalunya] and the [Vuelta al] Pais Vasco. I have to make a final decision [about my schedule] but I will have a few good race, rest a bit, do the Tour, rest a bit, do the Vuelta and then we can take stock at the end of the season."

Contador is currently participating in the first Saxo Bank gathering for the coming season in Gran Canaria and started his training in Lugano a few weeks ago. Last week, he was in the USA to do wind tunnel testing before travelling to Brazil for some sponsor commitments and is now raring to go

"My motivation is crucial," he said. "You cannot achieve a goal if you think it is unreachable."

In the past, the time trial was one of Contador's assets but with the emergence of Chris Froome, the Spaniard now finds himself with a disadvantage in the race against the clock. Hence, he has done much to improve in the discipline.

"I have not stopped working on my time trial," he said. "I try to optimize everything and to make the best possible performance in all areas, both in the time trial and in the mountains. All we can do is to improve the small details.

"Aerodynamics have a great influence," he said. "Cycling races are won by a few seconds and small details and this is where we can improve our aerodynamics to have less wind resistance, for example in the time trial at the next Tour de France.

"It is a constant evolution," he added. "To win a three-week race, you need to perform well in the time trial. Of course there are greater specialists than me and I have to do my utmost to defend myself."

Contador is likely to start his season in the Volta ao Algarve but still hasn't confirmed those plans.