Alberto Contador Goes Out in Style with Stage 20 Win at Vuelta a Espana

Alberto Contador celebrates his stage victory

Alberto Contador announced that he would retire from professional cycling at the conclusion of the 2017 Vuelta a Espana. Since the race is one of cycling's three grand tours, and in his home country of Spain, fans were cheering him on during the entire race. Contador is one of only six cyclists to win all three grand tours (Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana). 2017 had been a tough year for Alberto, with no stage wins and a ninth place finish in the Tour de France.

Things didn't start off well at the Vuelta, and Contador lost several minutes in the first week of the three week race. He seemed to get stronger in weeks two and three, launching numerous attacks. Chris Froome, the leader and eventual winner, was able to match most of these, but on stage 17, Contador gained some time on the other contenders with a second place stage finish. He attacked again on stage 18, but was caught by Froome and others before reaching the finish line.

Stage 20 was the toughest of this year's Vuelta. After two category 1 climbs, it culminated with an out of category climb up Alto de L'Angliru. Considered by some the toughest climb in professional cycling, Contador took off early on the final climb, eventually passing all of those who were part of an earlier breakaway. The climb is nearly eight miles long, with an average gradient of 10%. Portions of it are over 20% grade, maxing out at 23.6% on the steepest section. Chris Froome had over three minutes on Contador, so he was cautious, not wanting to risk cracking and losing the overall victory. At one time Contador held a one minute 20 second lead over Froome and the other contenders. As they got closer to the summit, Froome and his Team Sky teammate Wout Poels mounted a charge, but Alberto managed to hang on and win the stage by 17 seconds. After finishing, Froome, who had just clinched his first Vuelta overall win, congratulated Contador.