Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador said yesterday that he hopes to make his comeback from a two-year doping ban at the Tour of Benelux in August.

The week-long Tour of the Low Countries – known officially as the Eneco Tour – begins on August 6, the very day that Contador’s ban comes to an end.

Contador told Spanish radio station Cadena Cope that he also plans to take part in the Clasica de San Sebastian on August 14 before racing in the Tour of Spain in September.

“I will probably return before (the Clasica de San Sebastian) at the Eneco Tour,” he said.

“For the first time, I can say for sure that I will be at the Tour of Spain.”

Contador added that he is targeting a place in the Spain team at September’s World Championships in Holland and would like to compete in both the road race and the time trial.

“I would like to do both. In the time trial there are some steep slopes that I think could favour me, while in the road race there might be some riders who are better prepared than me,” he said.