For the last time in his career, Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) sat behind a pre-race press conference table on Friday to discuss his options for overall victory at the 2017 Vuelta a España. Even though the Vuelta has yet to begin, this is the first time Contador has spoken in public since confirming in a press release that he will quit the sport when the race reaches Madrid late on the evening of September 10. Friday´s press conference, then, had something of a farewell feel to it, albeit in the context of a race. Flanked by team manager Luca Guercilena and his personal press officer Jacinto Vidarte in a hotel conference room on the outskirts of NImes, Contador revealed that his definitive decision to retire came after stage 9 of the Tour de France and that he will be taking part in the Vuelta a España `both to fight for it and enjoy it`. Regardless of whether he wins it or not, he will not be revisiting his decision to retire.ADVERTISEMENT Contador began the press conference by expressing his solidarity and support to the victims of the recent terrorist attacks in Catalonia, saying that `the best way to pay homage to them is by making sure that our lives continue as normal and that we don´t change that.` Questions then centred on Contador´s upcoming retirement, which, he revealed, he had `thought about a lot, and which included the possibility of continuing through to the Giro d´Italia next year.` `But I was not very, very sure, and it was there, in the Tour de France, that I really decided definitively that I was quitting this year. Before the Tour, it was already almost 70 per cent certain,` he admitted. No farewell Tour Nibali is the best prepared, Froome is the favourite
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