Contador is returning to the Tour after missing last year's edition through the doping suspension that also saw him stripped of the 2010 title.
Since his last appearance, when he finished fifth in 2011 - also later annulled - the Tour's history books have been ripped apart by the exposure of the doping of Lance Armstrong, Contador's former team-mate and rival.
The Saxo-Tinkoff rider, however, insists that the race's prestige has not been fatally damaged by his own or Armstrong's wrongdoing.
"The Tour is the most important cycling race in the world," he said. "It is an important event in sport. Its magic will remain always."
The Tour starts in Corsica on Saturday. Read our race guide here
