Contador wins the 2011 Catalonia’s Tour

Barcelona (CNA).- Alberto Contador has won the centenary edition of the ‘Volta Ciclista a Catalunya’, Catalonia’s cycling Tour. This year’s race began on March 21^st in the touris town of Lloret de Mar, on the Costa Brava, and finished yesterday in Barcelona, after 7 days of competition. Contador was joined on the podium by the Italian rider Michelle Scarponi (Lampre) and young Irish hopeful Daniel Martin (Garmin).

Alberto Contador, leader of the Saxo Bank Sungard team, has won the legendary cycling race in the same week that the International Cycling Union (UCI) decided last Wednesday, that they would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne against the decision of the Spanish Cycling Federation’s (RFEC) to acquit Contador on the charge of doping.

This year the ‘Volta’ had 7 stages

This year’s Volta was made up of seven stages. The first one began and finished in the same town, Lloret de Mar, a 166-kilometre round journey. The second stage set off from Santa Coloma de Farners and finished in Banyoles, both cities located in north-eastern Catalonia. Wednesday was the turn for the most prestigious stage of the race: the mountain stage into Andorra. The race began in La Vall d’en Bas, just outside Banyoles, and finished at Vallnord, situated in Andorra. On Thursday, the race came back to the coast and followed the coastline until Sunday when the ‘Volta’ came into the Catalan capital, Barcelona.

Contador was joined on the podium by the Italian rider Michelle Scarponi (Lampre) and young Irish hopeful Daniel Martin (Garmin). Martin finished third due to the last minute withdrawal due to stomach problems by the American rider Levi Leipheimer.