Alberto Contador breaks his own climbing record at Swiss Alps Gran Fondo
Spanish Multiple Grand Tour winner ascended more than 23,000 feet (7,000m) in a gruelling nine hour Swiss Alps Gran Fondo
Alberto Contador may have retired from professional cycling two years ago, but he still rides like one.
The double Tour de France winner is enjoying riding his bike after years spent in the professional peloton, his latest ride is really quite impressive.
Competing in the Tour des Stations Gran Fondo in the Swiss Alps Valais region, Contador climbed more 7,000m of elevation on the 216 km ride, which took him over nine hours.
The Spaniard maintained average speed of 23.4 km/h, and reached up to 80km/h on the descents with an average power of 206 watts.
The second editon of the Tour des Stations took place in Valais, Switzerland, which was launched last year.
Over 2,000 riders participated, with the option to choose from three courses containing, 2,000m, 4,700m or 7,400m of climbing.
The Tour des Stations has the ambition to become the greatest Swiss Gran Fondo, akin to the Marmottes Alpes in France and the Dolomites Marathon in Italy.
Contador finished eighth overall, finishing 38 minutes down on faster rider Italian Fabio Cini.
The 36-year-old retired professional rider said afterwards: “We have a new record of meters ascended in one day! What a madness the Tour des Stations is, so happy to do it and with good sensations!”
Contador's next ride is his own Gran Fondo, taking place near Valencia, Spain on 21 September.
In October 2018, Contador took the Strava KOM record on the feared Bola del Mundo climb, which is just west of Madrid.
He rode the 3.29 km climb in just over 15 minutes, one and a half minutes faster than the previous record time.