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Barcelona - A spokesman for Alberto Contador confirmed on Sunday that the three-time Tour de France winner will take part in this summer's race.
Jacinto Vidarte said reports that Contador has decided to compete in cycling's most prestigious event despite an upcoming hearing that could result in a ban for the rider are correct.
"Yes, I will go to the Tour de France," Contador told Spanish newspaper Deia. "It is the best race, where the best riders are."
The Spanish cyclist comes off a victory in the Giro d'Italia and has a chance to become the first rider to win the Tour-Giro double since Marco Pantani in 1998.
Contador said he had decided to alter his training regime.
"From now until the beginning of the race I am going to base everything on rest," Contador said. "I prefer to even lose my form if it means I arrive rested."
A week after the Tour ends on July 24, Contador will appear before the Court of Arbitration for Sport where the International Cycling Union and World Anti-Doping Agency will challenge the Spanish cycling federation's decision to clear him of doping after he tested positive for the banned anabolic agent clenbuterol last July.
A Spanish tribunal accepted Contador's explanation that he inadvertently consumed the substance in contaminated beef.
Contador won the Tour in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
