Seven-time grand tour winner Alberto Contador is auctioning the bike he used during the 2011 Giro d'Italia and Tour de France races and will donate the money to the Spanish Red Cross's fight against the new coronavirus.
Alberto Contador Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Meanwhile tennis star Rafa Nadal is selling the shirt he wore when he won the 2019 French Open to raise money.
Contador, who retired in 2017, and 19-times Grand Slam winner Nadal made the announcements on Twitter.
"Hello everyone, we are still struggling with this COVID-19 and I want to make one more effort. I will auction this original Giro-Tour 2011 bike, which is very special for me. The proceeds will go to #cruzrojaresponde," Contador said.
The 37-year-old, who won the Tour de France in 2007 and 2009, was stripped of his 2011 Giro d'Italia title following a positive test for clenbuterol on the 2010 Tour.
In addition to his Tour titles, Contador won the Giro in 2008 and 2015 and the Tour of Spain in 2008, 2012 and 2014.
The bike, initially listed for auction with a price of 2,500 euros was at 12,400 euros earlier today.
Hola a todos, seguimos luchando con este Covid-19 y quiero hacer un esfuerzo más. Voy a subastar esta bici, original de Giro-Tour 2011 muy especial para mí, lo recaudado irá íntegro para #cruzrojaresponde , lo haré a través de EBay, os dejo el enlace en mi Bio. Un abrazo fuerte pic.twitter.com/UOAJATNbg5
— Alberto Contador (@albertocontador) April 8, 2020
World number two Nadal was looking to win a record-extending 13th French Open title this year, which would have put him level with Roger Federer on 20 Grand Slam singles titles.
However, the year's second Grand Slam was postponed from its May start to Sept. 20-Oct. 4 due to the pandemic.
Some 146,690 people have been infected by the coronavirus in Spain and 14,555 have died.
-Reuters
