Alberto Contador suspended until August 2012 (loses all results July 2010 - Jan 2012)

[LaFlorecita]

My thoughts exactly.

E.g. Ovtcharov, and several others, have shown what is needed in order to make a solid case for unintentional clen-ingestion.
AC hasn't come near to providing a plausible story.

Pretty funny that I actually quoted you before you posted it.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Jens Evald, Chairman of Anti-Doping Denmark: "CAS's verdict is actuelly aquitting Contador, despite the ban".

http://www.feltet.dk/nyheder/evald_helt_klart_en_frifindelse/
(in Danish so use a translate tool)

Exactly how I felt about it when readin the verdict.

And me too. We're not alone.

 

[Cimber]

Yep.
E.g. Ovtcharov, and several others, have shown what is needed in order to make a solid case for unintentional clen-ingestion.
AC hasn't come near to providing a plausible story.

Indeed, and this is why he was banned eventhough CAS states that doping is just as unlikely as the beef-story.

That is why Anti-Doping Denamrk Chaiman states that he was aquitted despite the ban. (see my post just above yours for link). Very ironic tbh. But it will be a very positive things for Contadors future career

 

[warmfuzzies]

Contador now stands amongst the greatest proven dopers of all time. I applaud his excellence on the bike and with the syringe. The punishment should be sufficient to warrant an asterisk in the history books, just like Mark McGuire and Barry Bonds.

 

[Cimber]

Contador now stands amongst the greatest proven dopers of all time. I applaud his excellence on the bike and with the syringe. The punishment should be sufficient to warrant an asterisk in the history books, just like Mark McGuire and Barry Bonds.

AS stated above CAS verdict actually pretty much aquit him of doping despite the ban. Pretty ironc, I know.

http://www.feltet.dk/nyheder/evald_helt_klart_en_frifindelse/

 

[LaFlorecita]

Contador now stands amongst the greatest proven dopers of all time. I applaud his excellence on the bike and with the syringe. The punishment should be sufficient to warrant an asterisk in the history books, just like Mark McGuire and Barry Bonds.

He isn't a proven doper. He's actually declared not guilty of doping, but is banned because of the strict liability and Alberto's team arguing the wrong thing.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

Walkman, i will send you a pm to explain my point. fair enough?

 

[Walkman]

Walkman, i will send you a pm to explain my point. fair enough?

Sure thing!

 

[GoGarmin]

Excellent that they kept their nerve and finally made the correct decision. A banned substance in his system, end of (although obviously there is a more detailed debate lying behind that).

Congratulations to Andy Schleck. I do wish such punishments stripped the offender of all previous titles too to be honest.

Individuals like Merx and McQuaid are out of line and such remarks irritate me. The punishment is "excessive" or this is a "dark day" for the sport? Idiots.

The evidence suggests that the black day for the sport was when Alberto elected to undergo a treatment that led to having a banned substance in his system. The day when the scientists found the traces of that and the day when the courts apply a punishment in relation to it were good days for the sport.

The punishment is no where near harsh enough for my liking, for Pete's sake he can race this year's Vuelta! He is essentially being rewarded for dragging the case through the courts with delay after delay. The longer he delays it, the more feeble his back dated punishment is. It should have been from the date he was sentenced (i.e. today). Expect other rumbled riders to continue to follow suit and tedious court cases with muppets in the media and peloton bemoaning the judicial process while ignoring what all evidence suggests is the real villain of the piece.

We can speculate if the clenbuterol is consistent with him having had plasticisers from blood transfusions. We can speculate why his performance that year, despite this process, was markedly inferior to his performances in previous Grand Tours (and what this might suggest about what he was up to earlier in his career). Only Alberto and his closest associates will ever know the answer and there is zero incentive for them to ever tell anyone. In such a system you only catch the bona-fide cheats a tiny percentage of the time they actually cheat.

It still comes back to having a banned substance in your system and you have to come up with something more concrete than a phantom cow carcass to overturn the routine punishment for such a blood test. If we can't accept the results and consequences of independent blood tests to identify a list of proscribed substances, then we might as well pack up and go home.

Sure, the decision could have been made quicker. But the quickest way for decisions to be reached is if the offender admits they were wrong. This can only be done if you impose harsh sentences for those who plead not guilty, but less harsh sentences for those who hold their hands up to it. Currently we are so lenient there is no incentive for anyone to admit it's a fair cop.

The sport is still on life support though, let's not kid ourselves. Anyone who saw Froome and Cobo destroy the pretty high level competition (including their in-form and more illustrious teammates) in the last Vuelta will know what to expect this coming season from a wider array of competitors. I'll be tuning in to this year's TdF from behind the sofa I think!

Anyway, on balance I'm a happy enough camper with this. Hopefully it'll give one or two riders pause for thought about their "preparations" this spring.

What he said.

 

[Cimber]

He isn't a proven doper. He's actually declared not guilty of doping, but is banned because of the strict liability and Alberto's team arguing the wrong thing.

This. If anything this verdict shows haw massively flawed "strict liability" can be

 

[LaFlorecita]

This. If anything this verdict shows haw massively flawed "strict liability" can be

I can't imagine how screwed Alberto must feel. Actually not guilty of doping according to CAS, but still a two year ban.

 

[LaFlorecita]

http://ekstrabladet.dk/sport/cykling/article1704042.ece

Oh please, how disrespectful is that.

 

[El Pistolero]

Someone should sue UCI, CAS and WADA. That would be funny. How many stories have we read of athletes getting cleared from clenbuterol? But if it's cycling.. BAM, 2 year ban!

Erm, discriminating much? How long was Yohan Blake's ban for testing positive on methylhexanamine ? 3 months? Yup... Definitely discrimination going around here(a Belgian athlete got banned 2 years for methylhexanamine).

 

[Walkman]

I can't imagine how screwed Alberto must feel. Actually not guilty of doping according to CAS, but still a two year ban.

What two year ban? A 6 months ban isn't much. Rather him keeping his results (except 2010 Tour) and got ban for two years starting today.

 

[Walkman]

Someone should sue UCI, CAS and WADA. That would be funny. How many stories have we read of athletes getting cleared from clenbuterol? But if it's cycling.. BAM, 2 year ban!

Erm, discriminating much? How long was Yohan Blake's ban? 6 months? Yup... Definitely discrimination going around here.

There is a difference in between spanish meat and chinease/mexican meat. Also, remember Li Fuyu.

 

[pedaling squares]

He hasn't been declared not guilty of doping. Nobody has proven that the clen did not get in his system by deliberate and illegal means. Contador's fans see proof of accidental ingestion, and Contador's detractors see proof of deliberate ingestion, but this verdict does not establish that any theory was proven.

What he has lost? A couple of GT victories and a chance to add one more to his palmares in 2012. That's it. Not his salary, not his win bonuses, not the income from sponsorship and appearances that resulted from 'winning' those GT's. He's lost nothing more than recognition. The only positive thing that may arise from this is the national federations may take more care when deciding riders' fates, as CAS has shown some teeth.

 

[Walkman]

Someone should sue UCI, CAS and WADA. That would be funny. How many stories have we read of athletes getting cleared from clenbuterol? But if it's cycling.. BAM, 2 year ban!

Erm, discriminating much? How long was Yohan Blake's ban for testing positive on methylhexanamine ? 3 months? Yup... Definitely discrimination going around here(a Belgian athlete got banned 2 years for methylhexanamine).

This is the problem when the national anti doping agencies. They have an interest in keeping their athletes from being banned and therefore the system itself must be replaced.

 

[LaFlorecita]

What he has lost? A couple of GT victories and a chance to add one more to his palmares in 2012. That's it. Not his salary, not his win bonuses, not the income from sponsorship and appearances that resulted from 'winning' those GT's. He's lost nothing more than recognition. The only positive thing that may arise from this is the national federations may take more care when deciding riders' fates, as CAS has shown some teeth.

He'll lose the money too. Not that he cares about it.

 

[roundabout]

He hasn't been declared not guilty of doping. Nobody has proven that the clen did not get in his system by deliberate and illegal means. Contador's fans see proof of accidental ingestion, and Contador's detractors see proof of deliberate ingestion, but this verdict does not establish that any theory was proven.

What he has lost? A couple of GT victories and a chance to add one more to his palmares in 2012. That's it. Not his salary, not his win bonuses, not the income from sponsorship and appearances that resulted from 'winning' those GT's. He's lost nothing more than recognition. The only positive thing that may arise from this is the national federations may take more care when deciding riders' fates, as CAS has shown some teeth.

He may have a rather substantial fine imposed. While I think that a fine is unlikely, it's not impossible.

 

[LaFlorecita]

What two year ban? A 6 months ban isn't much. Rather him keeping his results (except 2010 Tour) and got ban for two years starting today.

Losing last year's results I count as a two year ban.

I don't know what I would have rather had. Either it's losing victories, or it's being banned during the peak years of his career.

 

[broken chain]

Lance used his wealth and influence to have Conti banned.
Never get on the wrong side of Lance,you will lose.

 

[LaFlorecita]

He hasn't been declared not guilty of doping. Nobody has proven that the clen did not get in his system by deliberate and illegal means. Contador's fans see proof of accidental ingestion, and Contador's detractors see proof of deliberate ingestion, but this verdict does not establish that any theory was proven.

Okay, it's highly unlikely he doped. Happy now?

 

[Walkman]

Lance used his wealth and influence to have Conti banned.
Never get on the wrong side of Lance,you will lose.

Haha, come hink of it. This is another of Lance ex-team mates that will go down for doping.

 

[Benotti69]

The UCI only informed Alberto late-August. That's not his fault.

No, but let's hear him speak out now about how his treatment and that of his fellow riders is not standardised across the board and how it should be to be fairer. I didn't hear him complain about hearing about it (or did he) and that it was not fair on Li Fuyu.

 

[DirtyWorks]

Someone should sue UCI, CAS and WADA. That would be funny. How many stories have we read of athletes getting cleared from clenbuterol? But if it's cycling.. BAM, 2 year ban!

Erm, discriminating much? How long was Yohan Blake's ban for testing positive on methylhexanamine ? 3 months? Yup... Definitely discrimination going around here(a Belgian athlete got banned 2 years for methylhexanamine).

Please spare us the tears.

Two of the stories of athletes being cleared for clenbuterol are from cases where the athletes were in Mexico and China. Both countries are regarded as having unsafe meat supplies such that clenbuterol contamination is very likely. This is not controversial.

The EU's very safe meat supply is well known and highly regarded. There are lots of odd things about the decision and few controversies. The haphazard use of the word discrimination, is equally bad.

May I remind you and LaFlorecita the AAF - 1 day athlete sample was tested by WADA as a result of this appeal and surprise surprise, another clenbuterol positive. Let it go already.