Alberto Contador conquers Kilimanjaro

Alberto Contador has scaled the highest peak of a career that has seen him become one of only six riders to have won the Tour de France, Tour of Italy and Tour of Spain. The Spaniard, known for his climbing prowess on the bike, has just returned from reaching the summit of Africa's tallest mountain, Kilimanjaro, at the apex of a team-building exercise with members of his Tinkoff-Saxo squad.

Seventy percent of the team reached the top of the dormant volcano in five-day climb to 5,895 meters above sea level.

Contador told the team's website: “It was a new experience, where the whole team worked together, sharing good times and some really difficult moments as well. The weather certainly didn’t help us. For the first three days it rained a lot and we didn’t have time to dry our wet clothes and equipment like tents and sleeping bags.”

The weather presented the the biggest challenge; recent conditions on Kilimanjaro have been described as the worst in a decade.

“The hardest thing about the first three days was the constant rain, not the physical exertion or altitude as we didn’t go over 3,800 meters,” said Contador.

“Of course, the real test was the final climb to the summit on the last day. We went from the last camp, located at 4,600 meters, to Uhuru Peak, 5,895 m, the highest point of Kilimanjaro. That day we woke up at 11:30pm at night and aimed at reaching the summit at sunrise, but it was difficult to fall asleep. That last night before we embarked on the final climb to the top, it was really windy and difficult to climb. But luckily, the wind died out little by little and we decided to give it a try.”

Kilimanjaro is high enough that for many people the altitude becomes a serious problem. Some of Contador's teammates suffered in the thin air, but he was unaffected.

He said: “It was a new challenge for me because I didn’t know how my body would respond to the altitude. But the sensations I had were pretty good. Only after passing the 5,400-meter mark I noticed some discomfort in my stomach but it quickly disappeared, which kept me going at a good pace to the top.”

For the final push to the summit, the 72-strong Tinkoff-Saxo contingent, including riders and technical staff, split into small groups, with guides to keep them on the right trails.

"I went with Valgren, Kiserlovski and a guide,” said Contador. “We had difficult moments. Although I was lucky that the altitude didn’t affect me, there were teammates who were affected and had to turn back, others needed help to get to the summit. There were also some that had to return to the camp without remembering what had happened. But that was also one of the goals of the expedition, to face situations that involved fellowship and helping each other in difficult situations. I think we achieved that goal, although it wasn’t easy.”