Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) moved himself to within shouting distance of the Volta a Catalunya podium, but fell just shy after being passed by Richie Porte (Sky) in the final few hundred meters of the finish on La Molina. ?It was a fast stage because a number of teams tried to drop the riders of the first stage?s breakaway, which resulted in a high pace from the start," Contador said. "However, the last climb wasn?t tough enough and there was a strong headwind, which made it complicated to build a big gap. I attacked before what I had initially planned because a number of riders started attacking and nobody was reacting. I paid the price for that in the last 300m of the stage. ?Despite the final result, I?m happy with my performance because my form keeps improving every day ahead of my goal, which is the Giro. The only thing I wish for is to stay healthy and avoid crashes. I focus on recovering and take every day as it comes."ADVERTISEMENT Contador is fifth overall, 28 seconds from leader Bart De Clercq (Lotto Soudal), with Porte and Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale) at 21 and 26 seconds, and Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin) at 27. ?In the remaining stages of Catalunya it will be difficult to move up in the GC although just 2 seconds separate me from the podium. However, we all knew that in this race, bonus seconds would prove important," Contador concluded. Zoidl zooms in breakaway You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

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