Cyclists: Give Contador time to explain failed test
Tour de France champion Alberto Contador needs time to explain his positive test for a banned anabolic agent, shocked riders at the World Championships in Australia said.
The Spaniard has been provisionally suspended for returning a positive test for clenbuterol from a sample taken at the Tour de France, the UCI said, casting a distracting pall over the event in the suburb of Geelong.
Contador remains in cycling limbo while the UCI carries out further "scientific investigation".
"In the end I had to focus on my own, not what's going on in Europe," Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara said after notching a record fourth world time trial win in a welcome diversion from the controversy.
"First of all we have to respect the rules. The rules are we have to wait until the B sample has gone over and then people can talk and discussion can go on."
"The rules have to be respected. I am the first one to respect this and I hope also the whole world will respect that.
"The rest really is only polemic and big rumours."
Although a B sample has already confirmed the first test, Contador's result had shown "a very small concentration" of clenbuterol, the UCI said.
Contador blamed this on food contamination in a statement on Thursday.
Clenbuterol can be abused by athletes to strip fat and enhance muscle size and has led to bans for cyclists in the past.
British time trial silver medallist David Millar, who was banned for two years and had his 2003 world championship stripped for doping offences, backed Contador as a "fantastic athlete and a great human being".
"I think there's a very strong chance that this is being blown way out of proportion... because it's a microdose and it was on a rest day and it makes no sense," said Millar, now a prominent anti-doping activist who remains banned from Britain's Olympic cycling team.
"It makes no sense because it would have come up in other controls."
"It's a shame that (the findings have) been released when it hasn't been resolved. I think it's something that should be resolved behind closed doors and done the way it should be done."
"There are strict rules and I think unfortunately in cycling for the right reasons we always jump to the worst-case scenario, and because of the history we have in the sport unfortunately maybe Alberto's just maybe been kind of thrown to the sharks.
"I think it will get resolved and I hope so for Alberto's benefit and I hope so for the sport's benefit."
Contador's Tour de France victory with Kazakh-funded Astana remains under a cloud and the test results threaten to leave an indelible stain on the Spaniard, who also won the 2007 and 2009 Tours and is regarded as one of the greats of the modern era.
Comment 1 - 13 of 13
"The size of this find was so minimum it was one of two things a) a genuine food contamination or b) testing to see how good the swiss labs actually were. I tend to go with A and give him the benefit of the doubt. We are to good at pointing the guns at these chaps and condemning them before they are properly sorted." No. 13
Perhaps Valverde was keeping blood in Fuentes' fridge to test how good the police investigators were!
After all he never tested positive.
If you remember back to the mountain stages, after this rest day, when he went head to head with Schleck he wasn't exactly a rider going up the mountains with ease - he was under pressure keeping onto Schlecks wheel. It was Andys mechanical problem that helped Contador get away. The size of this find was so minimum it was one of two things a) a genuine food contamination or b) testing to see how good the swiss labs actually were. I tend to go with A and give him the benefit of the doubt. We are to good at pointing the guns at these chaps and condemning them before they are properly sorted.
UCI shoot cycling in the foot yet again by announcing "tour de france doping scandal",when it is only a very minimal find in his test indeed!,how many other tests did he take and pass?.you not get the athletics,swimming or football associations jumping the gun like this at all!,they protect the sport they represent.
why were they only sport representave association to go for the 1 competitor from 1 country ruling?,a retrograde sttep that athletes swimmers divers etc would not stand for at all.
Floyd Landis levels were below the minimum and he was suspended.
Hey as all the Armstrong haters would say, doping is dopng, it still is a banned substance and it was found in his system. Unlucky cheat!!!
So, let me understand this: There is a minimum level at which there is a violation. If this amount was 400 times less than the minimum (whatever that means), then why is there a story at all? It seems that there would be no violation unless it was at or above the minimum level for a violation. Is it truly a failed test if the amount found is below the threshold for their to be a failure. Somoen please explain what I am missing.
Contador shouldn't explain, his head chemist should explain. He is the one that didn't get the masking agent dosage correct.
400 times less than the minimum level? I dont see any doping here.
Unless there is a threshold specified, a positive test on 2 samples is telling. The teams know they are under the microscope and are fully capable of controlling their food supply. How did we get so many criminals in cycling. I take performance enhancing substances all the time - Gatorade and Power bars.
I feel huge sympathy for Contador, it would clearly be outrageous if he faced any long term sanctions or bans. 400 times less than the minimum level? Why are we hearing about this? Something is wrong with a system that permits this kind of public humiliation when he almost certainly has done nothing wrong. The UCI should resolve this internally before allowing "Contador Doping" headlines to be spread around the world in such an irresponsible manner. And an apology when he gets cleared would be nice too. But then we knew they were amateurs already.
Stephen900 - I am sure you are a paragon of virtue. Millar is an articulate and intelligent speaker and quality rider, I doubt you are either.
I dont think Millar is portraying himself to be 'whiter than white' he is simply giving his opinion and he is actually making a very valid point - why release all this now when the World Championships are on and when its still being investigated? Lemond has come out and said it doesnt make sense also, and he is whiter than white !
David millar is a complete and utter joke. The guy cheated for far longer than hes declared and now potrays himself as whiter than white so why the hell are we forced to read his drivell.RULES ARE RULES. Alberto is a cycling megastar on a stupid £5m euros per year? i mean come on where the hell is is sense in eating steak. We all know cattle these days have more steroids and drugs than a pro bodybuilder to make them as big and meaty as possible?- he should know the risk if this is true what he is saying? I am not so sure- remember he was linkesd to operation puerto??? A positive is a positive and should face the same ban as anyone else and perhaps when the ban his dished out they will put a journalistic ban on polnker millar to shut him up.
Please login to post a comment
Not already a Yahoo! user ? Sign up to get a free Yahoo! Account