With a decision still pending on the Alberto Contador case, UCI management committee member Peder Pedersen has said that he believes that the Spaniard will serve a full ban.
“The information we [the UCI] has right now suggests that he has committed an offence triggering a sentence of two years. So I don’t think he will race the Tour de France this summer,” he said on a programme on TV2 Fyn. He declined to elaborate further on that.
Pedersen is the first UCI member to give an opinion on what should happen in the Contador case. It is not known if his views reflect those of the governing body or are his alone. The UCI has previously indicated that it didn’t wish to comment prior to an official conclusion being reached.
Contador tested positive for Clenbuterol last July, en route to his third Tour de France victory. He has claimed that he is the victim of contaminated food and that he has never committed a doping offence. He is seeking to avoid a ban.
Previous cases where athletes have proven that they have unintentionally consumed Clenbuterol have led to reduced suspensions of one year. Pedersen’s backing of a two year ban suggests that he does not accept the explanation given.
Responding to the quote, Saxo Bank press officer Anders Damsgaard said that Pedersen and others should refrain from comment
“To be quite honest, I think it’s an unfortunate comment to make at this time,” he told Sporten.tv2.dk. “The case is not closed and it remains with the Spanish cycling federation. As long as there is not a judgement, we believe that the parties should completely refrain from commenting on it.”
The Spanish federation RFEC has been considering the case since November. In December it requested the UCI for additional information, and has been waiting since then to receive it. The UCI said that it expects to deliver a response to that by January 24th, making a conclusion likely in February.
Both the UCI and WADA have said that they will appeal any sanction that they don’t feel is correct. Likewise, Contador has pledged to go to CAS if he doesn’t agree with what is decided.