Alberto Contador: Next season might not be my last

Alberto Contador has opened up in an interview with The Guardian, revealing that plans for his final season might not be as clear cut as we thought.

The Spaniard had stated that he would end his career after the 2016 season, with the hope of one last Tour de France victory.

However, he is willing to look at the possibility of continuing for another year if things don't go to plan for him.

"I think 2016 will be my last year" Contador said, "but if I have an accident or something stops me being at my best level at the Tour then maybe I’ll continue another year."

This leaves open the possibility for him to continue beyond the end of his present contract with Tinkoff in the hope of going out at the top of the sport.

In the lengthy interview, the winner of all three Grand Tours also discussed the most controversial area of his palmarès: just how many of the three week races he has won.

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Officially, he is the victor of seven (Tour de France 2007, 2009; Giro d'Italia 2008, 2015; Vuelta a España 2008, 2012, 2014). But as cycling fans know he actually stood on the final top step of the podium a further two times, at the Tour in 2010 and the Giro in 2011.

These victories were stripped when he was found guilty of accidental ingestion of clenbuterol.

The 32-year-old stands firm on the subject, though, and even displays the winning jerseys of the contested races in his office.

"For me in that moment I cannot believe it," he said when talking about his ban.

"I never thought this could happen to me. My parents taught me to do things in a clean and honest way. I was so frustrated [but] I don’t want to speak more about that now – it’s in the past."

Looking ahead to the 2016 Tour, Contador sees Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana as the rivals who stand between him and his glorious final season.

Previous battles between Contador and Froome have provided some exciting viewing, and now with Quintana in the mix and all three aiming to peak for the Tour it could be a vintage year.

At the 2015 Tour, Froome came in for scutiny, criticism and all out abuse on the roads of France. Convinced he must be doping, small factions within the host media and home crowds turned their ire on the Team Sky leader in a way that no other rider faced.

In the hope of heading off a repeat of such scenes, the Tour winner is planning to release his physiological testing data.

This is a move Contador does not believe will have the desired outcome, suggesting that an overall transpancy would be a better approach.

"It won’t give too much to resolve this problem," he said.

"Maybe it’s more important that people can see you being more open in the way you work. I think that’s more useful than just giving out lots of data."