RFEC president says sanction length not determined yet, but Tour title almost certainly gone
One day after the news leaked that Alberto Contador would be handed a one year suspension for testing positive for Clenbuterol, the rider who looks set to be handed the Tour de France title has said that he believes his rival still won the race. Andy Schleck finished 39 seconds behind the Spaniard and in his mind, it appears that he still considers that outcome to be the correct one.
“For me Alberto is the winner of the 2010 Tour,” he said, according to Wielerland.nl. “I would love to win the race for real.”
Schleck’s stance might be difficult for some to understand, given that Contador had traces of a banned substance in his system. The Spaniard insists that it got into his body via contaminated meat and in handing him a ban which is half of the usual duration for such a case, the national cycling federation RFEC would appear to agree.
Its president Juan Carlos Castano spoke yesterday to national radio, according to Cyclism’Actu. He confirmed that the RFEC had notified him of the reported news, but insisted that it was not a final sentence.
“No decision has been made,” he said. “This is just a proposal, not a resolution. For the moment it is the communication of a proposal for this dossier. Alberto has 10 days to appeal this decision. Once this done, the Competition Committee will meet, will examine the arguments and make a quick final verdict. Although in the end, it only has little importance as both the rider and the international organizations may appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration of Sport.”
Castano confirmed that the UCI hadn’t met its stated deadline of January 24th, in relation to an opinion requested of it by the RFEC. It had contacted the governing body in December to look for clarification on several issues, and decided to proceed with its own decision when that clarification was not provided within the timeframe laid out by the UCI.
He appears to hope that the rider accepts the sanction, serves it, and then gets on with things.
“Alberto has the time to think and to reflect; if it is confirmed that the sanction is established for a year, he must consider that he already has a few months of suspension behind him. He could participate in the world championships, for example. It is necessary to wait until the final decision. An athlete must be prepared for these setbacks.”
Castano added that he considers the 2010 Tour de France title to be most likely already gone. He said that any sanction would make that official. “Even if the penalty is minimal, he will lose it,” he said.
Meanwhile the organisers of the Vuelta a España have said that they hope Contador will return to the race next August and try to take his second title. “We would be delighted if he could race the Vuelta,” the told Europa Press. “But for now, it doesn’t make any sense to comment on a decision that hasn’t been finalised. What we say today might not mean anything tomorrow. We must wait.”
Once significant complicating factor is that Contador was informed about his positive test on August 24th 2010. His ban would usually start from this point. The Vuelta a España begins on August 20th in 2011, making a one year sanction four days too long.