The Tour de France champion has been training on the Balearic island of Majorca and said he had been able to focus on work again after battling to clear his name since he was provisionally suspended in August.

"I did good training in Majorca," the 28-year-old Spaniard, who was cleared of wrongdoing by the Spanish  Cycling Federation (RFEC) last month, said in a statement Thursday.  "I tried to recover from the effort of the Algarve and although it has not been a very good weather I hope that step by step I'll go a little better every day." Contador, a three-times Tour de France champion, tested positive for a small amount of the banned anabolic agent clenbuterol during last year's edition of cycling's most prestigious event.

The RFEC initially banned him for a year but last month reversed the decision and exonerated him. Contador denied deliberate wrongdoing, saying the failed test was due to contaminated meat.

His battle to clear his name may not be over, with cycling's world governing body (UCI) still to decide whether to appeal. Contador said he planned to compete at the Tour of Catalonia this month, followed by the Tour of Castilla and Leon, the Fleche Wallonne and the Tour of Italy.