Saxo Back continues to support Bjarne Riis' team despite the failed doping test of his new signee, Tour de France winner Alberto Contador.
"I've been talking a lot with Bjarne Riis, who I know has talked to Contador several times," Saxo Bank's CEO Lars Christensen told El País. "Contador should know that we believe in his innocence. We respect the sponsorship agreement and we want to have Contador with us. Therefore, we hope that this matter is clarified as soon as possible."
Contador faces a possible suspension after testing positive for Clenbuterol on July 21 at the Tour de France. The UCI is reviewing his urine samples from the Tour de France to determine if, as Contador says, the Clenbuterol came from contaminated Spanish meat or if it may have been apart of something more sinister, like blood doping.
He announced the positive Clenbuterol control on September 30, two months after he won the Tour de France by 39 seconds ahead of Luxembourg's Andy Schleck. The UCI announced that same day that it provisionally suspended him from racing while it investigates his case.
Saxo Bank's problem is Alberto Contador is due to join the team for the next two years. Contador leaves team Astana at the end of this year and, as per an agreement in August, joins Bjarne Riis' team. Riis reportedly offered him a contract worth €9 million over two years.
Contador's contract also saved the team.
"One day at the Tour [in July], Riis mentioned the possibility of Contador joining the team. I told him that if he succeeded, Saxo Bank would sponsor the team for another year," Christensen said. "The prospect of signing with Contador was decisive. ... We had already discussed the possibility because Bjarne knew he was losing his stars, Andy and Fränk Schleck. A strong response was to sign a Contador."
The contract will be worth nothing if Contador is suspended. He faces a likely two-year ban if found guilty, and it seems as though he would be charged since the likelihood of meat contamination is rare. Clenbuterol helps produce lean meat in animals, but the European Union banned its use in 1996. It controlled 83,203 animal samples in Europe between 2008 and 2009 and only one sample was contaminated. It was not from Spain.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) lists Clenbuterol, at any level, as a banned substance. Contador's urine sample revealed 50 picograms or 0.000 000 000 05 grams per millilitre. Clenbuterol helps breathing and weight loss.
Plasticizers were also reportedly found in Contador's blood and they may indicate he had a blood transfusion, but the test to make this link is not 100 per cent certain.
"What attracted us to Bjarne's team is that it has always been a leader against doping, designing systems that are then used by other teams," continued Christensen. "So we said that if there was a doping case in the team we very disappointed, but Contador's case is different."
He added that Saxo Bank would continue to support Contador even if he is found guilty.