The Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador says he is in much better shape this year than last year. Sounds good, huh?

The Tour de France will be hs main goal this year. He is well aware that other riders want to win the race. And that others can win the Tour de France.

"The big goal is to repeat my victory in the Tour de France. But I know it won’t be easy because there are lots of other riders who also have the same goal. I think there are eight or maybe ten riders with a real chance but both the team and I will be giving everything to win it," Contador said.

"I don’t like saying that I’m the big favourite. There are other favourites because of their physical strengths and because of tactical factors, such as the strength of the teams. If I had to say one name of someone who could cause me trouble in the mountains, I’d say Andy Schleck because he was second last year."

Lance Armstrong is also a possible rival. The Spanish cyclist seems to be glad that Armstrong has left Astana Team. Racing with Armstrong last year certainly made Contador a tougher rider. It was a good experience to him.

Anyway, it suits the two riders to race with different squads. In Astana the focus will be to make Contador win. The squad don't have many leaders, so they will avoid many fights. Alexandre Vinokourov and Oscar Pereiro have promised to help the Spanish rider as much as they can. They will back him 100 percent.

"We have a very good team at Astana and I think we’ll have a great season. The team has worked hard in training and I am pleased with everybody’s motivation and the commitment they are putting in. That's the key." Contador said at the Astana team presentation.