Belgian legend Eddy Merckx previously stated that he hoped that Alberto Contador was innocent of doping, but now appears a little more doubtful about the Spaniard’s case.
In October he commented on the positive test for Clenbuterol, saying that “the control was in July, the test showed positive in August, the news comes out at the end of September, more than two months after the control. It seems very strange to me.”
He added that it was important for the sport that Contador hadn’t done anything wrong. “I hope I am able to trust him. It would be very difficult for cycling if Contador deemed unworthy of trust.”
Now, while speaking to the newspaper Le Soir about the 2010 season, the five-time Tour winner is a little more hesitant. “The explanations given by Contador appear light and not very credible,” he said. He’s also frustrated by the length of time it has taken thus far, and still there’s no resolution in sight. “I think this drags on too long and it is time that it was fixed.”
Whatever the outcome, he believes that the case has had an impact on the 2010 season. “This year would have been a vintage case without Contador. The season was decapitated by that event,” he explained. “You can tell me that there is practically an affair every year, but here, it affected the top of the world rankings, the triple winner of the Tour…it wasn’t nothing.”
Gilbert and Schleck:
Merckx feels quite differently about Philippe Gilbert, taking clear satisfaction from the performances of his compatriot in 2010. Gilbert was one of the best riders of the year, winning the Amstel Gold Race with a stunning surge on the drag to the finish line and then scooping his second Tour of Lombardy with a series of determined attacks.
He also picked up the Giro del Piemonte and took victories on stages of the Vuelta a España (two wins) and the Tour of Belgium. In addition to that, he was third in Gent Wevelgem, the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, fifth in Brabantse Pijl, sixth in Flèche Wallonne and ninth in Milan-San Remo.
The Walloon was also the strongest rider in the world road race championships in Australia, but was hauled back by the chasing group on the run-in towards the line.
Merckx is impressed, and feels that there’s more to come. “I know how he trains, it’s pretty phenomenal. He deserves everything he gets and it isn’t finished,” he said. “He has a perfect racing instinct, even if that has been questioned by some after the worlds in Geelong. I know what I am talking about, he was too strong and, paradoxically, too nervous. He did not act as usual.”
Merckx believes that Gilbert should restructure his season to chase success in the Tour de France. He’s avoided the race in recent years but he thinks that if he balances things right, it’s possible to be in winning form in July. To do that, he says he needs to “take a break after his Classics season, then go [to France and] win one or two stages, as he did in Spain."
However he not sure that he’s currently with the right setup to best achieve those goals. “He’d have to choose a team where he has say in everything, that’s not the case with Lotto,” he said. “A team where there will be the means [for him to do well], such as Astana. I know they are very interested…Vinokourov is the complete boss and he loves Gilbert.”
Merckx also believes in Andy Schleck, feeling that the twice runner-up in the Tour will get to stand on the top step of the podium. “With or without Contador, Andy will win the Tour one day,” he said, adding that the likely competitors weren’t yet clear. However he envisages the two other Grand Tour winners of 2010 as the most likely rivals, namely the Vuelta a España victor Vincenzo Nibali and Giro winner Ivan Basso. If Contador is able to continue racing, he expects that he too will be there.
Of course, as a Belgian, Merckx has his own heightened interest in how they get on. He expects Tom Boonen to be back to the top rank in 2011, and that there could be a great season for the Omega Pharma Lotto team. It includes riders such as Gilbert, Jurgen Van den Broeck and the German Andre Greipel, and all have the ability to do big things.