As the Alberto Contador case continues onwards, the Basque Regional Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has categorically denied that meat products from the region could have led to his positive test for Clenbuterol.
In a statement released this week, the regional ministry insisted that no beef from the region could have been tainted with the substance.
“At no time has the Basque government questioned the professionalism of our farmers and ranchers and, consequently, the work done on farms and livestock in relation to the possible use of banned substances, and their compliance with all measures of food safety and quality regulations,” it stated.
“In fact, this is demonstrated by official controls that are carried out systematically in our farming and processing facilities. Even considering potential food contamination, it could never have been with the Basque Country products that have been marketed in this community.”
While Contador has the support of the majority of Spaniards, this doesn’t extend to the meat industry, which has denied on several occasions that it could be the source of the problem.
Contador tested positive for Clenbuterol on the second rest day of the Tour de France, saying afterwards that beef had been bought in Irun and brought across the border into France. He said the team ate it as the meat in the hotel was not of the required quality.
On Monday, the UCI passed his file to the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC), requesting that it formally open disciplinary proceedings against the triple Tour winner.
Contador responded on Wednesday, saying that he was “pleased that the case has come to the federation because it means we can move forward.”
A statement issued by his press officer claimed that the dossier prepared by the UCI and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), “focuses on the hypothesis of food contamination, as expected the rider’s defence. Thus, according to documents submitted by the UCI and WADA, food contamination remains the only reasonable explanation from a scientific point of view to justify the presence of the tiny amount of Clenbuterol in the body of the rider during the past Tour France.”
The regional ministry is, as expected, not in agreement. “The Basque Government, along with the meat industry, at all times guarantees the food quality and security of all the products that our professionals provide to consumers.”
Contador will need to be able to prove beyond doubt that the source of the Clenbuterol was from meat. According to AP, tests on 83,203 animal samples in Europe between 2008 and 2009 showed just one positive test. During the same period, Spain tested 19,431 samples: no traces of the drug were found.
This is likely to mean that the battle to prove meat was the source is going to be a difficult one. Contador has employed a top-notch legal team, is preparing for the task ahead and insists he is confident.
He will need to both prove that beef contamination was at fault, and also to overturn the precedent set by cases where athletes have successfully proven they did not consume Clenbuterol deliberately.
The American swimmer Jessica Hardy and the Italian cyclist Alessandro Colo showed that they didn’t intentionally ingest the substance, but still faced one year bans.