Battered Klöden ‘not fit enough’ for Vuelta
BERLIN (AFP) — German veteran Andreas Klöden of RadioShack has said he is not aiming for victory in the Tour of Spain, which starts Saturday, after suffering heavy falls on last month's Tour de France.
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BERLIN (AFP) — German veteran Andreas Klöden of RadioShack has said he is not aiming for victory in the Tour of Spain, which starts Saturday, after suffering heavy falls on last month’s Tour de France.
The Vuelta a España starts in Benidorm this weekend and the 36-year-old Klöden will make his return to the saddle after withdrawing from this year’s Tour de France during the 13th stage having suffered a back injury.
“I don’t go for the GC in the Vuelta Espana. the back is better, but not 100 percent and the condition to win a Grand Tour isn’t good enough,” he wrote on his Twitter page.
Klöden, who finished second in the Tour de France in 2004 and 2006, abandoned this year’s race 30 kilometers into the 13th stage after injuring his back and elbow earlier in the race.