Tuesday 3 November 2015 10:14, UK
Alberto Contador has described Chris Froome as the toughest rider he has raced against but not the most talented.
The pair have faced each other four times in Grand Tours, with Froome getting the upper hand at the 2013 and 2015 Tours de France and Contador coming out on top in the 2012 and 2014 Vueltas a Espana.
Contador admits that Froome's emergence in the past four years has forced him to raise his standards, but he maintains that Andy Schleck, who is now retired, was his most gifted rival.
Contador told cyclingnews.com: "I think Froome is the most difficult rider I've faced. In terms of talent, I think that Andy [Schleck] was ahead. He was class.
"Remember, he was in Saxo before I came here, so I know a bit about his training, so I know that he was super, super class. He wasn't stronger than me in the time trials and that's really the problem with Froome, especially now in the flat time trials.
"I realised from 2013 that I needed to reach another level. Froome put that pressure on me."
Froome and Contador will renew their rivalry at next summer's Tour de France, which both riders are making their main goal of their season.
Team Sky have invested heavily in climbing domestiques over the past two years to support Froome in the mountains, but Contador is not fazed by the power of the British squad.
He added: "You look at Team Sky and they can have two teams, two incredible teams, for the Tour. I can only believe in my team and I think I have a really good squad around me that has a lot of experience, more than Team Sky, which is really important in the big tours."
