Written by: Justin Davis

LUGANO, Switzerland, June 11, 2011 – Two-time runner-up Andy Schleck will not be affected by the news that Spain’s reigning Tour de France champion Alberto Contador is to defend his yellow jersey in July, his team said Saturday.

Contador, who could be banned from the sport in August following a positive test at last year’s Tour, had placed doubt on his Tour de France participation in the wake of his Tour of Italy victory last month.

However according to reports in Spain Saturday the Spaniard announced: “Yes, I’m going to the Tour.”

Schleck has been Contador’s biggest rival the past two years, and finished just 39sec adrift in a pulsating 2010 edition, but his team said the news won’t affect the Luxemburger.

“Whether Contador is there or not, it doesn’t change anything about how competitive we want to be,” Leopard-Trek team manager Bryan Nygaard told AFP at the Tour of Switzerland Saturday.

“The riders are really trying to focus on what they can influence, and be as strong as they possibly can.

“You cannot go into the Tour and think, ‘ok I might have to be more strong or less strong than these (certain) guys’, this can’t be part of your approach.”

Contador’s victory last year was quickly overshadowed by his revelation that he had tested positive for clenbuterol.

The Spaniard – who will be bidding to be the first rider since the late Marco Pantani in 1998 to do the Giro/Tour de France double – was eventually cleared to compete by the Spanish federation earlier this year after succesfully arguing he ingested the banned substance after eating a contaminated steak.

His future, however, will be decided by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which is set to rule on the case — following appeals by the
International Cycling Union (UCI) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) — in August.

Although his team, Saxo Bank, have yet to confirm the news, Contador’s announcement will be music to the ears of team manager and owner Bjarne Riis, who last month said he was keen to see the Spaniard race in July.

Nygaard, however, welcomed a clear and quick resolution to an affair which has dragged on since Contador’s positive test announcement last August.

He added: “The only thing we all want in the Contador case is (for it to be) clear-cut, a good solid verdict and some kind of transparency in the decision making and content.

“Hopefully the people in authority and with the legal competence will evaluate that on our behalf.”

Article: Afp
Photo: Corvos