Contador, who also claimed Tour victory in 2007 and 2009, tested positive for the banned anabolic agent clenbuterol and also faces losing his 2011 Giro d’Italia title and all the other victories he claimed last season. The 29-year-old’s 2010 Tour title will be handed to Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck, while the ban means Contador will miss this year’s Tour de France and the London Olympics. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Cycling Union (UCI) appealed to CAS after the Royal Spanish Cycling Federation’s (RFEC) decision to acquit Contador of the allegations in February 2011.
Contador was cleared by the RFEC following the positive test for clenbuterol, a substance used by sufferers of breathing disorders. Contador has maintained his innocence, stating that eating contaminated meat was the reason behind the positive findings. However, CAS rejected this argument stating: “Unlike certain other countries, notably outside Europe, Spain is not known to have a contamination problem with clenbuterol in meat.” CAS added that the burden of proof was on Contador and that the ingestion of a contaminated food supplement was more likely than the contaminated meat argument.
Reacting to the news, the UCI stated that the CAS ruling marked the end of a long-running affair that has been “extremely painful” for cycling. UCI president Pat McQuaid said: “This is a sad day for our sport. Some may think of it as a victory, but that is not at all the case. There are no winners when it comes to the issue of doping: every case, irrespective of its characteristics, is always a case too many.”
WADA president John Fahey added: “This is an appropriate decision from CAS which represents the effective nature of the World Anti-Doping Code. It is regrettable there was some political interference at the first instance process from Spain which inevitably led to the appeal. As always, WADA will respect CAS decisions and continue to exercise its right to appeal at CAS any further case when it believes the Code has not been correctly followed.”
Contador’s ban has been applied retroactively meaning his suspension should end on August 5. The Spaniard has 30 days to appeal to the Swiss federal court and is set to announce his intentions at a news conference today or tomorrow (Tuesday or Wednesday).