Saturday 22 October 2016 18:21, UK
Alberto Contador said he was happy to end the season on a high after producing a strong performance on stage three’s summit finish at the Abu Dhabi Tour.
The Tinkoff rider had expected to struggle on the 10.8km climb to Jebel Hafeet due to a lack of peak condition, but he crossed the line in fifth place, just ahead of Vincenzo Nibali, which leaves him in the same position overall.
After concluding his campaign in Sunday's race-ending sprint stage, he will take 20-25 days off and then start preparing for the 2017 season with new team Trek-Segafredo.
Contador said: "I'm happy because we were more or less at the front, which is good for the team. Tomorrow is the last day of the season and then we can start to look at 2017.
"I'm happy with the feeling and when I finish this race, I have time to enjoy the winter.
"It's good because if you finish here, you have less kilograms to lose in the winter."
Nibali also had low expectations going into the stage and he too was happy with his performance.
The result was also buoyed by the fact that Astana team-mate Tanel Kangert won the stage and now looks set to seal overall victory.
Nibali, who will move to Bahrain-Merida over the winter, said: "This win means a lot for him and we're happy that he won, that the Astana team won, too. This victory and my good performance is a kind of farewell gift for me."
