Alberto Contador suffers fracture after an accident at home

Alberto Contador has been forced to rest and recover suffering a fracture in an accident at home.

The retired Grand Tour star is famed for holding his form long after he left the peloton, which helped him set a new Everesting record earlier this month.

But the 37-year-old has been forced off the bike after suffering a broken rib at home on Tuesday (July 21).

Contador said in an Instagram post: “Good and last training for a while – first time in my life I’ve broken a rib.

“Never happened to me despite the many times I kissed the asphalt at more than 50km/h, a hard hit at home and crack!

“Start the time trial to recover.”

The former winner of all three Grand Tours didn’t reveal how he suffered the injury however.

Contador has continued to inspire after he retired from professional racing in 2017, as he is still in formidable form on the bike.

The Spaniard has officially been crowned Everesting record holder with a time of seven hours, 27 minutes and 20 seconds – just two minutes faster than the record set by Morton in June.

Contador completed the brutal climbing challenge on the 13 per cent slopes of Silla del Rey, a 0.9km-long climb north of Madrid in central Spain.

Opting for a shorter climb than most, Contador had to ride 78 laps to reach the required 8,848 metres of altitude gain.

He had to ride a relatively short 148km to complete the challenge, compared with Morton’s 159km.

Australian pro Morton (EF Pro Cycling) put in a staggering ride last month to officially claim the record, just a week after he failed an attempt due to faulty elevation data.

The 28-year-old rode the Rist Canyon climb in Colorado, a 1.6km, 11 per cent climb which sits at 2,200m above sea level.

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But Morton has been forced to pass the title over to Contador, who has now officially been confirmed as the record holder by Hells 500, the organisation which oversees Everesting attempts.