Reports yesterday suggesting Alberto Contador will get a one year suspension from the Spanish cycling federation RFEC, but lacking any clear source for that information, appear to be misleading. According to the RFEC itself, they are still awaiting documentation from the UCI that was supposed to be sent by Monday.
Spanish newspaper 20 Minutos spoke to an unnamed official from the federation, who confirmed one small element of those reports: the day that the Competition Committee gets together to discuss various issues.
“They usually meet on Thursdays, yes, but they do not have a fixed day. And although there is secrecy in these cases, nobody is aware that this Thursday will see a decision taken on Contador,” the official stated.
Yesterday’s news suggested that the 27 year old rider would be handed a twelve months suspension for his Clenbuterol positive in last year’s Tour de France. Quickly spreading through the Spanish media and then relayed internationally by others, it followed on from a recent quote by UCI management committee member Peder Pedersen that the rider should get a two year ban.
The Dane later apologised for the remarks, saying that he had no insight into what decision the UCI would advocate in the case.
The fact that the RFEC hasn’t yet received the documentation – and, indeed, that it denies any decision will be made this week – indicates that the wait in the Contador case looks set to drag on further.
If the rider is ultimately handed a one-year verdict, it will signify that the RFEC doesn’t consider the Clenbuterol source to have been doping. The standard suspension for a positive test for the substance is two years; this can only be reduced if it can be satisfactorily proven that there was no intent to dope.