Doping taints most recent Tour as Contador tests affirmative

Reigning Tour de France champion Contador failed a substance examination during his win in the race last summer. The cyclist denied that he knowingly ingested any banned substance during the race in a news conference Sept. 30. Contador could lose his 2010 Tour title and be suspended from competition for 2 years. He said tainted meat was the source of the banned substance in his urine.

Contador blames tainted meat

July 21 was a terrible day for world's greatest cyclist Contador as he tested positive, right before the Tour de France began on the mountain stage. The New York Times reports that a statement released Wednesday by the International Cycling Union said 2 urine samples taken from Contador that day tested positive for traces of clenbuterol, a weight-loss and muscle-building drug. In a news conference Thursday, Contador called himself a victim and said he had eaten meat tainted with the drug at his hotel. He also claimed he couldn't have done better with the drug anyway. He said the amounts found in his samples were too small to matter.

Contador has connections with drugs

Contador will not stand for being known this way. He needs to get his name cleared. CNN reports that he was provisionally suspended from racing by the International Cycling Union. Most people in his sport are known for drugging. In fact, Contador was linked to the 2006 Spanish blood-doping ring. He won his first Tour de France in 2007. In 2008 he joined Astana, a team that was banned from the race for doping violations. He won his second Tour title in 2009. Lance Armstrong, a seven-time winner, finished third. So far, the only winner of the Tour de France stripped of his title after testing positive was American Floyd Landis.

A few specialists trust Contador’s statement

Some experts believe Contador’s claim that tainted meat caused his positive doping examination. Universal Sports reports that clenbuterol is often given to chicken, cows and pigs to speed up growth. It accumulates in the liver and muscle tissue. Clenbuterol is used by bodybuilders to increase muscle mass and burn fat. The drug also increases aerobic capacity by making more oxygen available to muscles. Its short term effects are similar to amphetamines. Contador couldn't at all have gotten a boost from easting clenbuterol-spiked animal meat, Dr. Andrew Franklyn Miller told Universal as a sports medicine expert.

Citations

New York Times

nytimes.com/2010/10/01/sports/cycling/01cycling.html?ref=sports

CNN

cnn.com/2010/SPORT/09/30/cycling.alberto.contador.banned/index.html?npt=NP1

Universal Sports

universalsports.com/news/article/newsid=494315.html