Alberto Contador adjusts position ahead of crucial Giro d'Italia time trial

Alberto Contador has modified his time trial bike to make it easier on his injured shoulder ahead of next Saturday's crucial battle against the clock.

The Spaniard dislocated his shoulder in a crash on the finishing straight of stage six and has subsequently widened the position of his aero-bars on his time trial bike to put less pressure on his troublesome joint.

The 59.4km time trial on stage 14 will likely prove to be a real shake-up of the General Classification, with Contador knowing he will have to put in his best performance to avoid losing time to testing specialists Richie Porte and Rigoberto Uran.

He said at a press conference on the Giro's first rest day: "I have taken advantage of today’s rest day to test my position on the bike, and although I should feel better in five days, I still decided to slightly widen the position of my handlebars.

"It costs a little bit aerodynamically, but it puts less pressure on my shoulder. In this situation, I think it's more important to protect it.

"I'm happy because I have been getting better every day after my crash. Yesterday [stage nine] my cadence was much closer to normal than during the stage to Campitello Matese [on stage eight]."

 Dr Hutch's guide to the Giro d'Italia time trial