As the announcement of the Alberto Contador verdict draws ever-closer, Spanish media is today reporting that the multiple Tour de France winner looks set to be given a year’s ban for his positive test for Clenbuterol.
According to AS, Marca and El Pais, the Saxo Bank-SunGard rider will be sidelined for twelve months. No name was given as providing the information, though, with AS citing what it described only as an ‘unofficial source.’ The veracity of the information therefore remains to be seen.
If Contador is indeed given a year’s ban, it would echo the case of the Italian rider Alessandro Colo. The ISD-Neri rider tested positive for the same substance on the last stage of the Vuelta Mexico, on April 25th. In October the Italian Olympic committee CONI announced that he would be sidelined from May 21st 2010 until May 20th, and would have to pay 1000 Swiss francs.
While Clenbuterol has a standard two year sanction, Colo was able to convince investigators that the source for the traces in his system came from meat.
There is however a difference with the Contador situation as Colo was in Mexico, which is known to have a problem with farmers using the substance.
The meat that Contador blames was bought in Spain. Clenbuterol is banned in Europe and so his defence is presumably either that the meat was imported from South America, or that the Clenbuterol was obtained on the black market and given to the animal in question.
The Spanish Federation RFEC has been considering his case since last November. It sent a request for additional documentation and feedback to the UCI in December, seeking guidance on the matter. The governing body said that it could expect a response by the 25th. According to AS, a federal source confirmed that it had not yet been received, but that it could come ‘maybe today or tomorrow.’
The source added that, “in any case, the process will follow the deadlines.”
There is varying reports as to when those deadlines will fall. While some media outlets are stating that the decision could be announced this week, AS suggests that Contador will receive a ‘draft resolution’ before the weekend, with the final outcome being officially released between February 11th and 15th. El Pais concurs, saying that the rider will most likely be told the decision on Thursday, after which Contador will have ten days to react before this is made public.
Both the rider and the UCI/WADA have the right to appeal any sanction to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Contador stopped racing before the 2010 Vuelta a España, paving the way for him to resume racing in the Spanish Grand Tour if he is indeed sanctioned for a year.
Today’s Spanish media speculation aside, a two year ban would be on the cards if a deliberate doping offence was proven. There have been unconfirmed reports of suspicious levels of plasticizers in his system which, if true, could potentially indicate blood transfusions. The test for that substance has not yet been approved by WADA, but a number ofanti-doping researchers have been working hard to finalise the method.
Contador has denied ever taking performance enhancing substances.