MADRID, April 16, 2011 – Spain’s controversial three-time Tour de
France champion Alberto Contador won the fourth stage of the Tour of Castilla
y Leon on Saturday, a day after slipping down the overall standings after
suffering flat tires.

His compatriot Xavier Tondo, of the Movistar team, took over the leader’s
jersey from Dutchman Bauke Mollema after the individual time-trial in the
northern town of Zamora.

Contador covered the 11.2 kilometers in 13 minutes, 42 seconds. Second was
his Saxobank team-mate Richie Porte of Australia, 01sec back, and third Tondo,
03sec behind the winner.

Contador had been the hot favorite to take his third straight overall
victory in the event, having already won the Tour of Murcia and the Tour of
Catalonia this year.

But on Friday he lost almost three minutes after suffering two punctures.

After Saturday’s stage, he is in 23rd position overall, 2min 37sec behind
Tondo, who has a 09sec advantage over Mollema.

Contador is racing under threat of a ban from the World Anti-Doping Agency
(WADA) and/or the International Cycling Union (UCI) following a positive test
for trace amounts of clenbuterol during last July’s Tour de France, where he
claimed his third victory in the race.

He was cleared to compete in February when the Spanish Cycling Federation
(RFEC) rescinded an initial decision to hand down a one-year competition ban.

It accepted the rider’s claim that he had unknowingly consumed
drug-contaminated meat and was therefore not negligent.

The UCI and WADA announced separately last month they plan to appeal to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne over the acquittal.

The five-day Tour of Castilla y Leon concludes on Sunday with a relatively
flat 167.7km ride from Madrigal de las Altas Torres to Medina del Campo.

Stage:
1. Alberto Contador (ESP/Saxo Bank) 13min 42sec. 2. Richie Porte (AUS)
01sec behind. 3. Xavier Tondo (ESP) at 03sec. 4. Bauke Mollema (NED) at 15sec.
5. Alex Dowsett (GBR) at 19sec

Overall standings:
1. Xavier Tondo (ESP/Movistar) 13hr 31min 40sec, 2. Bauke Mollema (NED) at
09sec. 3. Igor Anton (ESP) at 17sec. 4. Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA) at 40sec. 5.
Jerome Coppel (FRA) at 47sec.
Selected: 23. Alberto Contador (ESP) at 2min 37sec

Article: AFP