Well, there came a moment in which everyone knew Alberto through what he had won,
through what he was doing, and somehow he… his status, right? And his position…
It's a position, a status that allows him to do something different, to help others.
And that was the idea and the way in which the Alberto Contador Foundation was born.
For me, the Foundation has special value because I'm in a situation and in a place in which I feel privileged.
Obviously it's been a lot of work, but I feel fortunate to be part of it.
I think that from my position, I'm able to help a lot of people in different ways.
For me, cycling is my way of life, it's my passion, and in a certain sense,
it's my way of giving back to the sport that has given me everything.
The Alberto Contador Foundation originated with two objectives—right?
To raise awareness, of the illness that Alberto had, the brain stroke, and to develop and promote the sport of cycling.
And in each of these objectives, we developed different goals.
Regarding bicycles, there's Bicycles for Life.
Bicycles for Life has to do with giving a second life to bicycles.
Together with a company, with SEUR, we collect bicycles.
These bicycles come to us at the Foundation,
which is in collaboration with the Pinto Disabilities Association from my city.
The process then moves on to inspection, classification, and repair…
reconditioning the bicycles so that they're in optimum condition for a second life.
The people that work here at the Bikes for Life warehouse are people with disabilities.
There are monitors and mentors with them that train them and help them.
The idea is that they can develop themselves so that in the future,
they can be integrated into the workforce in the world of bicycle mechanics.
Together with the Ananta Association, we then donate these bicycles to underprivileged areas
or places where they can be very useful.
Two months ago we took a truck full of bicycles to three mountain villages in the Moroccan Atlas
where a donation was made.
It's very interesting because the villages are quite isolated,
and with these bicycles they're going to be able to get around, fetch water, and get the children to school.
Which means the bicycles are given a second life and are truly useful.
Another thing I like about the Foundation is that provides the kid who likes bicycles a place to practice, right?
A place where this child can easily explore possibilities.
When I began at fifteen years old, everything was completely different.
You didn't have options… in the end, it was all about soccer.
Soccer, soccer, soccer.
And cycling, if you picked up a bicycle to try and compete, you'd seem strange.
And for me it was almost impossible to be able to acquire a bicycle, be able to acquire clothing for cycling, equipment…
And in this sense with the school, well, all of that is much simpler.
Everyone has these opportunities, and they have the option of molding themselves with cycling.
Because I think that the values that cycling gives you—not because it's my sport—
I think few sports can give you those values.
In the cycling school it's about fun, about having a good time with friends,
learning to ride a bicycle and training bike skills.
And in the youth and U-23 teams, it's probably more focused on competition—
but the idea is always to promote the bicycle and outreach of cycling.
The activity, you're progressively growing year after year and really, we don't put limits on ourselves.
In fact, I'm sure that once my sports career finishes, a large part of my time will be taken up by the Foundation.
I think Alberto doesn't only have to be a champion on the bike, but also has to demonstrate that he's one off of it.
He has to have a series of values and motivations that make him that champion and make him who he is.