MADRID, Feb 16, 2011 – Spain’s cycling federation found “with a high
degree of probability” that three-time Tour de France champion Alberto
Contador ate drug-contaminated meat and was therefore not negligent, according
to extracts of its report leaked here Wednesday.

Contador tested positive for minute traces of the banned substance
clenbuterol during last July’s Tour de France.

But the 28-year-old has repeatedly denied knowingly taking any banned
substances, blaming the result on a steak he says was contaminated with traces
of the muscle-building drug.

“The minimal amount detected could not presume an improvement in sporting
performance,” the Spanish cycling federation’s report said, according to
extracts published in the sports daily AS.

“In previous days the results of the analysis were negative,” the
federation was quoted as saying in its report, which was communicated to
Contador but not publicly released.

In the report, the federation said it took into account that there was no
sign in the racer’s biological passport of blood transfusions and that he had
been clear in dozens of analysis throughout the season.

“This brings us to the conclusion that with a high degree of probability
the positive detected was a consequence of the consumption of contaminated
meat, an act which cannot be assumed or considered as negligent conduct.”

The decision to clear Contador marked an about-turn for Spain’s cycling
federation, whose competition committee last month had recommended a one-year
ban for Contador, a ruling that would have stripped him of his 2010 Tour de
France title.

The rider has drawn high-profile support, including from Spanish Prime
Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero who said Thursday “there is no legal
reason to sanction Contador”.

But the federation head has said this had no impact on their final decision
in the case.

The International Cycling Union, the sport’s world governing body, and the
World Anti-Doping Agency have a month to appeal to the Court of Arbitration
for Sport, based in Switzerland, which would have the final word.

The federation’s decision means Contador, who joined Saxo Bank from Astana
shortly after his third Tour win, is free to compete for the first time for
his new team. He will ride in the Tour of Algarve which gets underway
Wednesday in southern Portugal.

Clenbuterol is a banned weight loss/muscle-building drug which is also used
to increase lean meat in cattle. The substance was banned by the European
Union in 1996 but it is still administered illicitly by some cattle farmers.

Article:AFP