Valverde: Ban hurting Contador’s Vuelta bid

Pontevedra, Spain: Alejandro Valverde said the lay-off from a doping ban has affected Alberto Contador’s rhythm and judgment to hurt his chances of winning the Spanish Vuelta.

Contador returned to competition earlier this month after being banned since February for testing positive for clenbuterol en route to winning the 2010 Tour de France, a title he was subsequently stripped of.

The 2008 Vuelta champion trails overall leader Joaquin Rodriguez by one minute in this year’s edition to sit in third place. Contador is seven seconds behind British cyclist Christopher Froome and the same time in front of the fourth-place Valverde.

“He’s been laid off without competition for a while, so he is still trying to find his rhythm,” Valverde said on Monday, the first rest day of the three-week race. “He’s third in the overall standings but we can all see he’s a little nervous, attacking when he shouldn’t be attacking. But I guess he has his plan and he’s doing it for a reason.”