A decision on the Alberto Contador doping case was originally expected in early December, but it appears to be increasingly likely that the Spanish cycling federation RFEC won’t deliver its verdict until next month.
According to Spanish newspaper AS, federal sources have indicated that the members of the RFEC Competition Committee are running behind schedule due to the complexities of the case. It says that it looks like being February before Carmen Victoria López, Juan Ignacio Sobrino and Javier Leguizamon plus the president, Fernando Uruburu reach a conclusion.
Contador tested positive for Clenbuterol during this year’s Tour de France, which he won. The news of the test was announced in late September, over two months after the end of the race. The substance normally leads to a two year suspension, but Contador is claiming that he inadvertently consumed it by eating tainted beef.
After the UCI and WADA studied the issue and drew up a dossier, a request was sent to the RFEC on November 8th to open disciplinary proceedings. Under Article 280 of the UCI’s anti-doping regulations, a timeframe is laid out for the decision to be reached. “The proceedings before the hearing panel of the License-Holder’s National Federation must be completed within 1 (one) month from the time limit set for the dispatch of the summons,” it states.
The article also states that penalties start to apply after this period. “The National Federation shall be penalized by the disciplinary commission, incurring a fine of CHF 5000 for each week’s delay without prejudice to the obligation to complete proceedings as fast as possible.”
The rules further state that if no decision is reached within three months, that the UCI can go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which will appoint a single arbitrator to force the RFEC to act. In that case, the Spanish federation would bear costs for all parties.
That three month date would fall on February 8th, giving a strict deadline for the RFEC to finally pass judgement. By that time it would in theory face a bill of CHF 40,000 [€31,780 approx, or $42,000].
WADA has indicated its frustration with the delay, and has made it clear that it will appeal the sanction to CAS if it is not happy with what the RFEC decides.
Contador himself has pledged to appeal to the same court if he feels he has been sanctioned unfairly. As a result of this, it is anticipated that the final outcome of the case could be a long way off, putting a question mark over his plans to compete in the 2011 Tour de France.