Alberto Contador handed two-year ban for doping offence!!!!!!!!!!!

But he will be back racing in August of this year? What a joke.

Some nerd wrote:

But he will be back racing in August of this year? What a joke.

Imagine if MLB, the NBA, the NFL, and tennis had minimum two-year bans for first-offense PED positives? You'd be able to hear the screams echoing for weeks.

But on a more positive note, some of the country's unemployed law-school grads might finally get work...

Some nerd wrote:

But he will be back racing in August of this year? What a joke.

But all his results are overturned, he's been removed from the results, and is anticipating $3.25 million fine.

So cycling got the best out of him, he kept in shape and he will be good for the end of season.

I think the period of time for the appeal is the reason it happened this way. They could hardly suspend him 18 months while its being heard, then give him another 2 years now. That wold be a 3.5 year suspension.

This keeps everyone sort of happy.

At least they also banned Lance Armstrong.

Oh...wait!

We Americans can relax knowing that Lance Armstrong never cheated.

Yea, that messy due-process thing (and evidence?) keeps getting in the way...

Congratulations to Andy Schleck the new official Tour de France champion from 2010

I was sure Contador was guilty, but after what happened at the U17 WC last summer and reading about how much meat there actually is out there contaminated with clenbuterol now I'm not so sure. Anyway, either way, Schleck said it best when he said this is not a good day for cycling.

Tinfoil wrote:

Congratulations to Andy Schleck the new official Tour de France champion from 2010

Congratulations to Andy Schleck, that was equally as jacked as Contador, and the 20 next placed tour riders.

Contador was the best of the dopers.

The current antidoping system simply makes things even more

unfair. Some are cought and become jerks and bad guys amongst

the uninformed public. Other, that also use the full package,

become heroes.

Thats what sport has become.

Look at the table in this Wikipedia article of TdF winners. Basically, with a few exceptions, if you've won the TdF, you were either doping or have tested positive for a banned substance at some time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_at_the_Tour_de_France

Fred Savage wrote:

I was sure Contador was guilty, but after what happened at the U17 WC last summer and reading about how much meat there actually is out there contaminated with clenbuterol now I'm not so sure. Anyway, either way, Schleck said it best when he said this is not a good day for cycling.

Right. You should actually read the decision. The CAS took that entire argument into account.

Yea, he has still been riding this past season, even just finished up one short tour. Even though his results from the past year are wiped out, in addition to his 2010 TDF title, and his Giro title, that isn't the same thing as completing a ban during that time. It is a joke, and I hope he does have to pay back the 3 million dollars. What a disgrace.

For anyone still hanging on to the Clenbuterol debate, do your homework please. First of all, the problems that have occurred with Clenbuterol showing up in prepared foods have been minimal, and have not occurred at a consistent level in Spain, as the defense claimed. Secondly, much attention was paid to the plasticizers in his blood, which in conjunction with the Clenbuterol made a clear case Contador was not on the up and up. Either way, the universal ruling is there is a ZERO tolerance level for Clenbuterol being in anyone's system. So it doesn't matter how it got there. Lashawn Merrit got suspended for what he claimed was from a sex drug, and wasn't for anything track related which was probably true. But it doesn't matter, its in their system, and they put it there. That's why I love how the argument goes from

"I didnt take drugs!"

"Yes, you did!"

"Well, I didn't knowingly take them. They were put in me"

"So you took drugs?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that, I don't know how it got there."

It was a one year ban, not from the positive test but from the date the court recommended the ban. Thus he loses the 2010 tour title for the positive test, but keeps his 2011 title because the recommendation came after the completion of the title.

Crazy... take them both, or ban him 2 years from right now. Does he have to pay back the money he won?

All his results from 2011, including the Giro title are wiped out. Thats in addition to the 2010 tour de france title

I think it is interesting to look at how Contador was treated versus how Landis was treated.

Landis was stripped of the title within days, lacking any kind of "political" support to defend him.

Contador was informed quietly about the finding, enjoyed a two month period (to plan a strategy) before before the public actually found out, and even his own cycling federation sought Contador's advice about a potential partial ban, before retracting it when Contador simply hinted he wouldn't give his permission.

I think when we compare the treatment of Landis to Contador (or Landis to Lance), there is certainly a double standard (or more), depending on how well you are politically connected to all the different organizations.

Isn't Contador one of those who kept posting here about how good drugs are and how much they help performance.

Well if he hadn't used any, then he'd be keeping the 3 million.

DON'T BE A DRUG BELIEVER.

CADEL EVANS WON THE TOUR OUTRIGHT LAST YEAR, Contador was 3rd overall I believe.

Armstrong may be controversial, but he has never failed outright and double, as the other two have. Landis was very clear, as was Contador. Cycling should just allow doping and they should standardize the bike, and see what these jerks can do with the same equipment as we know they will never be clean.

I'm not a drug believer. It's not a question of belief. The effects of many drugs have been well studied, with measurable results.Clenbuterol builds muscles, and reduces fat. Both effects are beneficial to cycling performance.

J.R. wrote:

Isn't Contador one of those who kept posting here about how good drugs are and how much they help performance.

Well if he hadn't used any, then he'd be keeping the 3 million.

DON'T BE A DRUG BELIEVER.