Alberto Contador Velasco, born on December 6, 1982, in Pinto, a suburb of Madrid, Spain, is a retired professional road racing cyclist renowned for his climbing prowess and aggressive riding style.
As one of the most accomplished Grand Tour specialists of his generation, Contador’s career blended dazzling victories with significant controversies, including a doping suspension that reshaped his legacy.
Growing up in a modest family as the third of four children, he discovered cycling at age 14 through his older brother, developing a passion for the sport that propelled him from junior ranks to global stardom.
Beyond racing, he has channeled his experiences into philanthropy, co-founding the Alberto Contador Foundation in 2013 to promote cycling among youth and raise awareness about strokes after surviving a near-fatal brain hemorrhage in 2004.
Now 42, Contador works as a television commentator for Eurosport, manages a UCI Continental team, and delivers motivational speeches on resilience and leadership.
Siblings
Alberto has three siblings, namely Francisco Javier, Raul and Alicia Contador.
His older brother, Francisco—affectionately known as Fran—introduced him to cycling at age 14, sparking a lifelong passion that led Alberto to the professional peloton.
Fran, who pursued his own path in the sport but never reached elite levels, has remained a steadfast supporter and collaborator, co-founding the Alberto Contador Foundation with his brother in 2013 to nurture young talent and advocate for stroke prevention, a cause close to their hearts after Alberto’s 2004 health scare.
Below Alberto in the family lineup is his younger brother, Raúl, born with cerebral palsy, a condition that required significant parental care and financial strain during the family’s early years.
Career
Contador’s professional journey ignited in 2003 when he joined the ONCE-Eroski team, fresh from junior successes including the 2002 world mountain bike marathon title, though he quickly pivoted to road racing.
His debut season yielded a stage win in the Tour de Pologne’s time trial, signaling his potential as a stage racer.
Early promise bloomed in 2005 with a stage victory at the Tour Down Under, a remarkable feat just eight months after brain surgery for a cerebral cavernous malformation that nearly ended his career.
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The procedure, prompted by a severe hemorrhage during a Tour de France reconnaissance ride, forced a grueling recovery, yet Contador returned fiercer, capturing the Vuelta a Castilla y León in 2005 and 2007.
His breakthrough arrived in 2007 with the Discovery Channel team: a commanding Paris-Nice overall win followed by a dramatic Tour de France triumph, where he outdueled Rasmussen in the mountains to claim yellow by a mere 23 seconds over Cadel Evans.
Team upheavals marked 2008—Discovery’s disbandment led him to Astana, barred from the Tour due to prior doping scandals—forcing a pivot to the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, both of which he conquered in a historic double, becoming the first Spaniard to win all three Grand Tours.
Tensions simmered in 2009 with teammate Lance Armstrong during another Tour victory, but Contador’s 2010 win was overshadowed by a positive clenbuterol test, sparking a protracted legal battle.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a two-year ban in 2012, stripping his 2010 Tour and 2011 Giro titles, during which he endured isolation and doubt.
Returning in August 2012 with Saxo Bank, he staged an epic comeback, launching a solo 80-kilometer attack on stage 17 of that year’s Vuelta to seize victory.
Subsequent years brought Vuelta wins in 2014 after a crash-riddled Tour abandonment, and a gritty 2015 Giro defense amid a failed Giro-Tour double attempt.
Health niggles and fading form led to his 2017 retirement at age 34, capping 15 seasons with 79 UCI victories, though forever intertwined with doping shadows from Operación Puerto associations, from which he was cleared.
Accolades
Contador’s two Tour de France victories in 2007 and 2009 showcased his mountain mastery, with the latter edging Armstrong in intra-team drama; a third in 2010 was retroactively annulled.
The 2008 Giro d’Italia win, paired with that year’s Vuelta a España conquest, marked him as the fifth rider—and youngest at 25—to complete the Triple Crown, a feat repeated with Vuelta successes in 2012 and 2014, where his Fuente Dé heroics flipped a deficit into glory.
A second Giro in 2015 added to the haul, though his 2011 edition fell to the ban.
Beyond the majors, Contador dominated week-long stage races, securing Paris-Nice thrice (2007, 2010, 2016), the Vuelta al País Vasco twice (2008, 2009), and Tirreno-Adriatico in 2014.
Single-day highlights include the 2008 Clásica de San Sebastián and 2013 Milano-Torino, his lone classic victory dedicated to a fallen peer.
He amassed 15 Grand Tour stage wins, four Vélo d’Or awards as cycling’s best (2007, 2008, 2010, 2014), and the Royal Order of Sporting Merit in 2008.
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