Troubled Spanish rider Alberto Contador claimed his biggest win of the 2011 season when he won the Tour of Catalunya 2011 earlier today.

The Saxo Bank-SunGard rider was already in the lead when he learned on Thursday that the International Cycling Union (UCI) would be challenging his acquittal for a positive test from last year's Tour de France for the banned substance clenbuterol.

On Sunday, Contador completed the seven-day race in Barcelona's city centre with a 23-second overall advantage over Italian Michele Scarponi, with Ireland's Dan Martin third, 35 seconds back.

"It has been a tough race and we had to control it with several mountains on our way. The last 4 days have been very hard as the breaks have been initiated very late. What I like is to compete and when I enter a race, I'm entering 100 percent," Alberto Contador told Roadcycling.com and Roadcycling.mobi after the finish.

"Wednesday I felt strong and managed to win on the Andorra climb. So I'm happy about the win and very happy about the effort from the team. It's a great satisfaction to win the anniversary edition. The Volta has a great story. Until yesterday, I had not seen the names of those who have won but there are Merckx, Anquetil, Gimondi and Ocaña. It's an impressive list and I am extremely proud to be among them," Contador added.

Contador continued "This has been a very good way of sharpening my form for the 2011 Giro d'Italia."

"The team has been working very hard the whole week so they're all pretty tired now, but we are extremely happy to win. It's the first time the wins here and it's Alberto (Contador) first time to participate in the race and winning the anniversary version of the race simply makes the win even sweeter," Team Saxo Bank-SunGard sports director Dan Frost commented.

Frost added "Alberto's has proven to be a truly world class pro and remained focused on the job throughout the week. A great win for Alberto and a great win for the team."

Asked if the win was his way of responding to the UCI appeal, Contador answered: "I haven't raced here to make any response to anybody. I always race to win at 100 percent."

The final stage, from Parets del Valles to Barcelona, was won by France's Samuel Dumoulin (Team Cofidis) ahead of Colombian Rigoberto Uran. It was Dumoulin's second stage win in this year's Volta a Catalunya.

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