D.O.B.: 6/12/82

Hometown:Pinto, Spain

Height:177cm

Weight;62kg

Contador More Than a Bike Racer

Alberto Contador (Astana) lines up this weekend at the 68th Paris-Nice in his second race of the 2010 season, and his second with Specialized. Just weeks after winning at his season debut at the Volta ao Algarve in Portugal, the defending Tour de France champion looks to keep the ball rolling at the “Race to the Sun.”

While Contador remains intensely focused on preparing for his major goal of the season to defend his Tour crown, there’s more to the Spanish climber than meets the eye. Known for his lethal attacks and intensity, Contador is quite a different man off the bike.

Away from the pressure cooker of racing, the 27-year-old is quite the family man. He describes himself as a “friend of friends” and would rather go hiking or go to the movies with friends. His personal motto is “querer es poder,” which loosely translates to, “where there’s a will, there’s way.”

Here is Contador—in his own words—on his passions in life beyond the bike:

Home: “I live in El Pinto, a small community south of Madrid. My mother works for the local government, and my father retired a while ago to take care of my disabled brother. I am the third of four siblings.”

Personality: “I am a friend of my friends, of my family, of my fans. I am proud that I have still same friends of all my life, those that support me and accept me for who I am.”

On life away from racing: “I like to spend time with my family and friends, go see a movie, have dinner out with friends, visit my parents. I like to relax as much as possible because the season is crazy and you’re always on the move once the racing starts.”

Hobbies: “I used to have canaries, but I don’t have time to care for them anymore. I like to hunt, but I do better on my bike. I don’t have good aim! I hunt for small game; rabbits, hairs, quail, things like that.”

Passions: “I really love cars and auto racing. I have deep respect for the pilots and their abilities to control the cars at these speeds. I had a chance to go to a racetrack and drive on the course. That was really something. I have also been to watch some Formula 1 racing and have gotten to know (two-time world champion) Fernando Alonso. Although we’ve spoken about trying to get a project off the ground to sponsor a team, right now he’s pretty busy (laughs, alluding to Alonso’s move to the Ferrari racing team).”

First experiences on the bike: “I really didn’t like cycling at first. To me, it was just another sport. I was playing soccer and running cross-country. I started to ride with my older brother, Fran, and his friends, who used to race amateur. They would drop me on the climbs, and I didn’t like that very much. By the fourth ride with them, I was dropping them.”

On overcoming brain surgery for cerebral cavernoma in 2004: “That marked a turning point in my life. I was always ambitious when it came to my sporting career, but now I pay much more attention to the smaller details of life. That’s why my friends and family are so important to me. When you’re flat on your back in a hospital bed, bike racing seems like far away and all you want is to be able to return to a normal life. When I finally was able to return to cycling, I felt privileged.”

On winning the Tour de France: “I always dreamed about the Tour. As an amateur, I was already thinking about it, but I never told anyone, because they would have said I was living in the clouds. It’s one thing to win a race like Paris-Nice. It’s important in the world of cycling, but beyond that, only the Tour de France reaches the mainstream. When I won the Tour and had a hero’s welcome in my hometown, that gave me goose-bumps.”

On becoming famous: “My friends and my fiancé keep me in my place! My family and friends help remind me that I am the same person that I was before I started to win bicycle races. I also remember the days when my mom would sew together pieces of clothes so I could have a proper outfit when I went to races as a junior.”

Life without cycling: “I think if I wasn’t a professional bike racer, I would probably have worked in veterinary. I really love animals and I think that’s probably where I would have focused my studies if I hadn’t become so successful racing the bike.”

On retirement: “I haven’t planned anything specific, but I cannot imagine that I would still be doing this in 10 years’ time.”

On working with Specialized: “There have been a lot of changes on the team and one of them is the thing you use most, the bike. I am very content with Specialized, because I have felt very comfortable from the very first moment. The bike meets all my requirements, it’s rigid, it’s light, and most important, they are open to all kinds of suggestions, which is very important, because to win sometimes depends a lot of times on small details.”

Desires for 2010: “I don’t want to ask for anything big this season, except, above all, my health in private life and my sporting life. The only thing that I ask is that there isn’t some sort of accident or anything that can hamper my season, that I can train with tranquility and not have any sort of setback in my preparation. Everything else will unfold as it does.”