More Legal Troubles For Contador

It seems that you can’t hear anything about the sport of cycling with doping and/or a doping test being in the mix somewhere, so of course, it makes sense that there is another story combined doping and cycling. 2010 Tour de France champion Albert Contador faces more troubles stemming from a positive test during his win last year, and his title hangs in the balance.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has called for a hearing surrounding Contador’s positive test for clenbuterol, which was found in his urine last July and just a few days prior to his victory in France. Clenbuterol is a medicine for asthma, and it allows for more oxygen, and it also increases the rate in which fat is burned, so it’s going to give a cyclist an advantage and make him an online betting favorite. But the Spanish federation believed Contador’s reason that he consumed the drug via contaminated beef, which is the athletic equivalent of “my dog ate my homework”. In fact, the dog excuse may actually be an improvement. The verdict is being appealed by the International Cycling Union and the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Contador faces a two-year ban if he is found guilty of doping, and a verdict is expected to be handed down before the next edition of the Tour de France, which takes place in July. The Spanish federation was obviously going to take a soft stance against Contador, who is a native of Spain, and he’s well loved in the country. The Prime Minister of Spain has even jumped to Contador’s defense, which is to be expected, but the truth has to come out, and it will come out in this hearing. Either way, it’s just another black mark on a sport that doesn’t need any more help becoming a joke.