Alberto Contador has decided not to defend his title as the Spanish time trial champion due to a case of the flu that began last Saturday.

"It's a pity, but I'm not able to attend the Spanish Championship because I'm having a little flu. I had wanted to defend the jersey, but unfortunately I am not in good condition and against this I can not do anything," Alberto Contador said today from training in the Sierra de Madrid, where he is working on his Tour de France preparation despite the setback.

Contador, with his team mates Paolo Tiralongo, Dani Navarro, David de la Fuente, Jesús Hernández, Benjamin Noval and Oscar Pereiro (the last to join the group, coming from the Tour of Switzerland), is doing an stage in Madrid which will run along this week as the final phase of his training for the Tour de France. During these days, Astana team directors also will decide the final roster for the French Tour.