Contador focusing on Tour not Armstrong

Hot Tour de France favourite Alberto Contador is concentrating on regaining the title he won in 2007 and not the issue of a possible power struggle with Astana team-mate Lance Armstrong.

The Spaniard was named Astana's leader for the Tour by team manager Johan Bruyneel last week, leaving seven-times champion Armstrong as one of his helpers for the three-week race which starts today.

"What Johan said recently about me being number one in the team is something I appreciate, but I don't feel it's that important," Contador told Reuters.

"Whether I was number one or number three, my focus and concentration on the Tour would still be the same.

"I don't consider the question of hierarchy in the team to be significant," the 26-year-old said. "Right now, I'm not worried about it at all.

"The race will decide how that plays out, and depending on who's strongest, the team will work for one rider or another," he added.

Seven-times Tour champion Armstrong returned to the sport in January after 3 1/2 years in retirement but Contador said he had had very little direct contact with his American team-mate.

"We haven't really been able to get to know one another because our paths have only crossed in one training camp and one day's racing," he said.

Aside from former champions Contador and Armstrong, the Astana team for the Tour also boasts podium finishers Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloeden.

"This year it's clear that in terms of names, Astana is the most powerful in the Tour," Contador said.

"But that's no automatic guarantee we'll be the best. Other teams, like Saxo Bank, with fewer big names may be stronger."

Contador was unable to defend his Tour crown last year after Astana were barred from the race following their implication in doping scandals, prior to the Spaniard joining the team.

Instead, Contador won the Giro d'Italia and the Tour of Spain to become only the fifth man to complete the 'Triple Crown'.

"In comparison with how I was in 2007, I'm a much stronger rider all round, I'm better at reading races, and I know myself and my rivals a lot better," said Contador who won the Spanish time trial title this month.

"The only problems are that I can no longer spring surprises on my rivals, and there's a lot more pressure on me to win the Tour.

"If I finish second or third, to some people that will seem like failure.

"I'll try to win it as hard as I possibly can," he added.

"The last three winners in the Tour have all been Spanish and I'd like to continue our country's run of success. That's why I'm preparing for this race as well as I can."

Contador has racked up overall wins in the Tour of the Algarve and the Tour of the Basque Country this season. He also took two stage wins and fourth overall in Paris-Nice.

"I'm in the condition I want to be in for the Tour, particularly bearing in mind the third week is the most important," he said.

Boonen to race

Former world champion Tom Boonen has been allowed to take part in this year's Tour de France by a French arbitration court, his Quick Step team said yesterday.

"We just got the news that Tom Boonen has the right to race, the team lawyer just announced it to us," Quick Step spokesman Alessandro Tegner told Reuters.

Tour organisers ASO had banned Boonen from the race after the Belgian failed an out-of-competition test for cocaine in April.