Tinkoff-Saxo have confirmed the team that will support Alberto Contador in his bid for a second Giro d'Italia title, which includes Michael Rogers as road captain and another former winner in Ivan Basso.
Contador has not been seen in action since racing at the Volta a Catalunya in March, having built towards an attempt at a Giro and Tour de France double at a training camp in Tenerife.
Despite mediocre results from the three stage races the Spaniard competed in this year, Contador told the Tinkoff-Saxo website that he was happy with where he is with his form ahead of the first grand tour of the year.
"I knew that the first races of the year, in addition to competing for them as always, would serve to build a solid training base and achieve the rhythm that you cannot get solely by training," Contador said.
"I come [to the Giro] in a pretty good shape and I’m happy with that. It is true that we must wait and see the race and I’m not at the same level I had at the beginning of the Tour last year but slightly lower. Nevertheless, we have to keep in mind that if I were at the same level it would be difficult to keep in good shape until the Tour."
The six-time grand tour winner will also be supported by Roman Kreuziger, who is still waiting to have his appeal heard by CAS over a Biological Passport violation last year, as well as Sergio Paulinho, Manuele Boaro, Matteo Tosatto, Christopher Juul-Jensen and Ivan Rovny.
"I am very, very happy with the teammates I will have in the Giro," Contador said.
"They are all highly motivated and everyone has given their outmost to earn a place in this team. The basic pillars in the mountains will be Ivan Basso, Roman Kreuziger and Michael Rogers. Just by mentioning their names we can get an idea of their quality and the huge experience they have. I have the maximum confidence in them."
