Drugs cost Contador Tour crown

Alberto Contador has been stripped of his 2010 Tour de France victory and handed a two-year ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) following his positive test for clenbuterol.
By The Newsroom
Published 7th Feb 2012, 08:09 BST

It was initially announced the Spaniard had failed a doping Test in September 2010, shortly after he had won his third Tour – he was also victorious in the sport’s biggest race in 2007 and 2009.

The 29-year-old always maintained his innocence, claiming he failed the test after eating contaminated meat, and rejected an offer from the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) to serve a 12-month suspension.

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In February, 2011, the RFEC then decided to withdraw any sanction against Contador, a decision which was subsequently appealed at CAS by the International Cycling Union (UCI) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

CAS yesterday partially upheld that appeal, ruling Contador must serve a two-year period of ineligibility starting retroactively on January 25, 2011, minus the period of the provisional suspension served in 2010-2011 (5 months, 19 days).

All results obtained since January, 2011 will be wiped from the record books, meaning that in addition to Contador losing the 2010 Tour crown, his achievement in winning the 2011 Giro d’Italia will no longer be recognised.

The 2010 Tour title will go to Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, with Russian Denis Menchov finishing second and Spaniard Samuel Sanchez up to third.