Alberto Contador is set to lose one of his three Tour de France titles after being banned for two years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for failing a dope test during the 2010 race.
Contador, the Tour winner in 2007, 2009 and 2010 who tested positive for the banned anabolic agent clenbuterol, also faces losing his 2011 Giro d’Italia title and all the other victories he claimed last season.
The Spaniard’s Tour title will be handed to Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck, with Briton Bradley Wiggins climbing on to the podium and Russian Denis Menchov finishing second.
A spokesman for the Radioshack-Nissan team said Schleck would make a statement later on Monday.
Italy’s Michele Scarponi is set to take the Giro 2011 title.
«Alberto Contador is sanctioned with a two-year period of ineligibility starting retroactively on 25 January 2011, minus the period of provisional suspension served in 2010-2011 (5 months and 19 days),» CAS said in a statement.
«The suspension should therefore come to an end on 5 August 2012.»
The ban means that the 29-year-old Contador, who had threatened to end his career if found guilty, will miss this year’s Tour de France and the London Olympic Games.
«In rejecting the defense argument, in particular that the presence of clenbuterol in Alberto Contador’s urine sample came from the consumption of contaminated meat, today’s ruling confirms the UCI’s position,» the International Cycling Union (UCI), who had appealed with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the Spanish federation’s decision to clear Contador, said in a statement.
Spanish cycling federation (RFEC) president Juan Carlos Castano said of the CAS decision: «We are obliged to comply with it but we don’t agree with it.
«It’s very bad news for Spanish sport,» he said on national radio. «For us this journey has ended.»
CAS said they did not believe Contador’s argument that he had eaten contaminated meat during a Tour de France rest day.
«Unlike certain other countries, notably outside Europe, Spain is not known to have a contamination problem with clenbuterol in meat,» it said.
UCI President Pat McQuaid said: «This is a sad day for our sport. Some may think of it as a victory, but that is not at all the case. There are no winners when it comes to the issue of doping: every case, irrespective of its characteristics, is always a case too many.»
Contador, who was awaiting his fate at his home in Pinto with his family and lawyers, is now expected back to competition on August 6, meaning he should be able to take part in the Vuelta, which starts on August 18.
Spain’s Oscar Pereiro was the last rider to be awarded a Tour victory after the race winner lost his title for failing a dope test, in 2006 when American Floyd Landis was stripped of his title following a positive test for testosterone.
Contador, one of only five men with titles in all three grands Tours, is widely regarded as the greatest cyclist of his generation.
His climbing abilities have made him almost invincible in the three-week stage races, although he finished only fifth in last year’s Tour following a troubled preparation and because of a sore knee.
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