Saxo-Bank SunGard director Bjarne Riis has once again declared his support for Alberto Contador, saying that he believes in the Spaniard and that even if he is handed a ban for his Clenbuterol case, that it doesn’t mean he intentionally doped.
"I have good reasons to believe in him, he inspires respect and everybody knows what the situation is,” the Dane told L’Equipe. “The whole team supports him and I trust that in 2011 he could be our captain.
“I hope the decision will be fair, but if he is sanctioned it doesn’t meant that he is guilty [of doping]. It is an important distinction.”
Riis is referring to Contador’s insistence that his positive test for the lean muscle promoter Clenbuterol was as a result of tainted meat. The Spaniard isn’t saying much to the press at present, but did tell L’Equipe that he has done what he can to convince the RFEC (Spanish cycling federation) competition committee that he is innocent.
“I have high hopes,” he said. “The dossier deposed before the commission is complete, nothing has been left to chance and it relies heavily on scientific data. I just hope the decision will go in my favour.”
Contador is basing his defence in part on previous cases from the world of sport. The first is that of the French tennis player Richard Gasquet, who tested positive for cocaine in March 2009 but was finally cleared because he claimed that the substance got into his system after he kissed a woman in a nightclub. He served a two and a half months suspension.
The second case is that of the German table tennis player Dimitrij Ovtcharov, who was cleared by his national federation this year after testing positive for Clenbuterol. He said that he accidentally consumed it in China and thus escaped a ban. This was in contrast to previous cases of accidental ingestion of the substance, where the people concerned were still handed suspensions, albeit reduced ones.
WADA recently lodged an appeal with CAS over this, and looks likely to fight the decision.
If Contador does manage to avoid sanction, or receives a ban of just a few months, l’Equipe has indicated that he intends riding all three Grand Tours in 2011. This would be the first time he has done the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España in one year, although he has won all three before. He took the Tour in 2007, 2009 and again this year, while in 2008 he won the Giro and the Vuelta after his Astana team was blocked from the French event.
However whatever the decision, it is quite possible that appeals will be lodged with CAS. Contador is sure to appeal any big suspension handed down by the RFEC, while the UCI and WADA have both indicated that they will contest any sanctions that they feel are not adequate.
That raises the possibility that the situation could drag on for at least a number of months, making a Giro ride uncertain. In fact, some observers have suggested that the appeals process could even extend past the Tour de France, although that’s speculation at this point in time.
Settling in with Saxo Bank
Whatever happens in the case, Contador is continuing on as if he will be racing like any other season. He’s been training and says he’s in decent shape, despite also stating that his sleep has been disrupted by the stress of the situation. He met up with Riis and the rest of the Saxo Bank-SunGard team last week and spent time with them at the team training camp in Fuerteventura.
The primary aim for everyone there was to build working relationships between the riders, which is particularly important as so many new faces will be there next year.
Riis said that he was glad that he decided to travel to the camp. “His presence here is very important,” he said then. “For me, it is like he is one of the team.”
Contador’s lawyer Andy Ramos told the Associated Press that a decision could come ‘any day.’ The outcome of that will determine what happens next, and how long the rider will be sidelined.