With his hearing before the Spanish cycling federation RFEC set to occur today, multiple Tour de France winner Alberto Contador has spoken about his case, and what he says is his disappointment with the Astana team.
The 27 year old feels he has had little support from the squad, perhaps due to his sudden decision after the Tour de France to compete elsewhere in 2011. Astana had expected that he would stay.
“They should consider how they have treated me,” Contador said in an interview with Teledeporte. “In the last three years I have shed sweat for the team, winning two Tours, a Giro and other prestigious tours such Pais Vasco and Paris-Nice. This year was difficult, I encouraged my team-mates to concentrate so as not to notice the gaps [within the team].”
Following the announcement of his positive test for Clenbuterol, an unnamed Astana source reportedly told the Humo publication that the rider had used the substance after the Dauphine Libéré in order to shed weight before the Tour. Contador refers to the fact that the team management didn’t reject this assertion, clearly considering it to be a betrayal of sorts.
“Then they were not able to disprove with four lines of information [ie via a short press statement] that it came from a source of Astana,” he said, elaborating on the reason why he felt a lack of support from the team. “Each acts in a certain way and I do not have believe they have behaved in a respectful manner. Most of all, it was not a surprise to me.”
The Spaniard had an uneasy relationship with the Kazakh team after the much delayed payments of salaries last year, plus his efforts to end his contract a year early. He negotiated with many other squads in 2009, but ultimately ended up staying for the final twelve months of his contracted deal with the team.
He has decided to go to Saxo Bank – SunGard for 2011 and, in comparing the two, considers that the Danish squad has been more behind him. “It’s a pity that I wasn’t in a team like Saxo Bank last year,” he said. “It would have been more supportive.”
This weekend he will meet up with the management and the other riders in order to do a long training camp on the island of Fuerteventura. There was uncertainty about whether or not he would be able to take part, but ultimately the UCI decided that his suspension from racing didn’t prevent him from other team work.
Heading to the island enables him to get some warm weather training in and, importantly, to also be around others and start the bonding process. There’s uncertainty as to when he will be able to race again, but he is continuing with things as he would otherwise have done in other seasons.
“It's good for everybody,” he said, referring to the camp. “The 24 riders will be there together. These camps are not [just] for training, but to build unity among all riders.”
Although he is working on the bike, making sure he stays in shape, he knows that the case could drag on. Whatever the RFEC’s decision, the option remains open for appeals to be made; this could further lengthen the process. The 2011 Tour de France is seven months away and he wants to try to return to racing as soon as possible.
“I hope it's soon,” he said, talking about the resolution to the case. “It's true that it is not easy [to reach a decision] but I want it before the end of the year.”
Once again suggests he could quit cycling:
Contador has said in the past that he would consider walking away from the sport, whatever the outcome. He’s toned that down more recently, implying that he would call it quits only if he was handed a ban. He reiterated that again yesterday. “I cannot say if I would continue if I was sanctioned for two years,” he said. “I don’t doubt for a second that I haven’t done anything wrong.
“It [the time since his positive result] has been really hard because for three months I can’t stop thinking about it. Before only three people knew it, but eventually it became public. There have been many incidents of defamation, which have been discredited afterwards. Now we are in a difficult process, waiting for final resolution. I cannot sleep a wink at night and do not wish it on anyone.”
Questions have been asked of Contador’s defence that he accidentally ate meat that was contaminated by the illegal farming use of Clenbuterol. Tests carried out within the EU suggest that the product is virtually unused in Europe, where it is banned. However the rider and his representatives recently questioned this, saying that the level of testing was too low to be able to make accurate pronouncements that the meat industry is clean.
There have also been suggestions made by others that the meat could have come from South America, where the industry is less regulated.
Under WADA rules, the onus is on the rider to prove beyond doubt how the substance got into his system, though, making things very difficult as the evidence – the meat in question – was eaten four months ago. There are also unconfirmed reports that his samples showed a surge in plasticizers around the time of the positive test, the suggestion being that he took a blood transfusion around the time of the second rest day of the Tour.
In response, Contador insists that he has never broken the rules, and states that parts of the media are treating him unfairly. “Doping is to use a substance which is on the banned list, and I have never done that,” he said.
“I have not hesitated for a second, because I've never done anything illegal. It [the positive test] is from the meat…that is the truth and I can go anywhere with it. Our defense is going to discredit all the hypotheses with the best experts. We guarantee that we have delivered reports that will cost them to read, because they are very extensive. We have some very compelling arguments, reasoned and well argued.”
And yet the fact remains that there are questions. The turbulent history of cycling has shown many big champions have used banned substances and, fairly or not, there is a lack of trust in those who have tested positive because of this.
He acknowledges that some will accept his version of events while others will continue to question it; the blame for that, he suggests, is down to some sectors of the press.
“I understand that some doubt my version,” he stated. “When certain media [reports] are based only on negative news and turn the positives into negatives, this influences the public. But I feel very supported by the kindness of the people, they stop me on the street before and ask me for photos. They are giving me the strength to stay strong.”
He states that others have also shown solidarity with him. These include Andy Schleck, the rider who finished second to him in this year’s Tour de France. The Luxembourg competitor has said that whatever the outcome, he will consider Contador as the winner of the race; the Spaniard
“We send messages quite a lot, everyone knows that we have good relationship. He is a great champion,” he said.
“I feel quite supported [within cycling], by directeur sportifs, fellow riders...many people have conveyed their support.”
Others with cycling and sport in general have reserved their judgement. They’ll wait and see how the case turns out. Contador may wish for a speedy resolution to the matter, but the feeling persists that the process – and thus the uncertainty, and the questions – could continue for months. The complexity of the case ensures that this is so.