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

[Escarabajo]

Generally agree. Though it's not quite the same as breaking a leg. But yes, it could have been worse, as you note.

I think the decision is fairly just. I just don't think that Schleck and Scarponi (and anything else Berti won) should be handed victories. I think those races' record books should say "no winner". That's all.

No broken leg takes victories from the past.

That's two Grand Tours.

 

[BYOP88]

Anyone see Quatar on ES. If so what did Harmonn have to say about this?

Smith said 'life bans are needed' and Harmon said along the lines of 'about damn time, can't believe people thought the meat contamination was plausible etc etc etc'. The camera at one stage cut to Dekker whilst they were waiting to see if they won and he said 'I don;t even want to talk about that guy with the news we had today'.

 

[Benotti69]

I dont understand how people think the decision is fair.

He had a banned substance in his system and got caught. He should have got 2 year ban in July 2010. That's fair.

Instead he got to compete and win races for 16 months. How many of these races are going to update their websites?

Lets see some of you Contador fans start a thread for Li Fuyu a Chinese rider who probably consumed some meat in China in a country that Clen is widely used in animals yet he got a ban but others who competed there didn't!

 

[Havetts]

Gonna set a precedent for everyone who is busted for something now.. Drag this out with your federation as long as possible, take a month off for a nice vacation under the motto that you wouldnt ride cause of the investigation. Then drag it till CAS and keep racing, lose whatever you've won and get your punishment backdated so you can race in approx. 7 months.

Sigh.

 

[roundabout]

IIRC Li tested positive in a race in Belgium. He may have been to China prior to that (a bit unlikely) or had some meat from home or Belgium also has clen "problems".

Certainly Delgado whining about Contador being picked on because he is a star is quite funny given how quickly Li's case was dispatched with and how almost nobody stood for him.

 

[DirtyWorks]

I dont understand how people think the decision is fair.

He had a banned substance in his system and got caught. He should have got 2 year ban in July 2010. That's fair.

Instead he got to compete and win races for 16 months. How many of these races are going to update their websites?

Lets see some of you Contador fans start a thread for Li Fuyu a Chinese rider who probably consumed some meat in China in a country that Clen is widely used in animals yet he got a ban but others who competed there didn't!

The biggest problem with Li Fuyu's case was he wasn't around long enough after the announced AAF to hear his side of the story. Swoosh! That guy was never heard from or seen in Europe again. If there was ever a guy worth talking to right now it's Li FuYu.

I agree with your sentiment, but see it a little better. Yes, it was creative application that no less wealthy athlete could hope to get. Strict liability and the penalty were at least applied.

 

[sniper]

I dont understand how people think the decision is fair.

He had a banned substance in his system and got caught. He should have got 2 year ban in July 2010. That's fair.

Instead he got to compete and win races for 16 months. How many of these races are going to update their websites?

Lets see some of you Contador fans start a thread for Li Fuyu a Chinese rider who probably consumed some meat in China in a country that Clen is widely used in animals yet he got a ban but others who competed there didn't!

You're very right to bring Li Fuyu into the equation.

And what do AC fans have to say about Etxebarria's comments a year ago?
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/david-etxebarria-critical-of-contadors-reaction-to-one-year-ban

just jealous, probably.
an axe to grind..

 

[DirtyWorks]

Gonna set a precedent for everyone who is busted for something now.. Drag this out with your federation as long as possible, take a month off for a nice vacation under the motto that you wouldnt ride cause of the investigation. Then drag it till CAS and keep racing, lose whatever you've won and get your punishment backdated so you can race in approx. 7 months.

Sigh.

I think you are part right. You need the UCI on board to keep your career alive. Li FuYu plain vanished and the way Floyd Landis was so swiftly ejected, the UCI had to have a hand in keeping them and others away. Meanwhile other riders are welcomed back. It's a mystery wrapped in an enigma for sure...

 

[Blakeslee]

I was very pleased to see this decision. Regardless of if you believed Contador doped or not, the rules as currently written clearly called for the full two year suspension in this case. Strict liability places the responsibility on the rider for any illegal substance found in their body and Contador clearly did not present evidence strong enough to meet the threshold for invoking the no fault or negligence clause. It was very important for the future of anti-doping efforts that the rules were upheld an no exceptions were made due to Contador's star status.

I was a little disappointed in how the suspension was backdated allowing Contador to return to racing in six months after having raced the entire season last year. This was somewhat mitigated by Contador being stripped of all of his results for the period of the suspension. More than the results I feel the message sent by the two year suspension is very important. With a one year suspension it would have been easier for Contador to continue to proclaim his innocence. With a two year suspension even though CAS did not prove conclusively that Contador was doping, with a doping violation on his record it makes it much more difficult for Contador to credibly continue to argue that this was a case of accidental ingestion.

Moving forward one of the biggest changes that needs to follow this decision is clearly a complete overhaul of how appeals for suspensions are handled. I was particularly bothered by how Contador was allowed to race an entire season while his appeal remained unresolved. This was unfair both to Contador and even more so to the other riders whom he raced against last year. Riders were deprived of their moment on the podium and the outcomes of the races were completely changed by Contador's presence. I thought the comments made by the fourth place finisher in last years Giro were spot on.

 

[LaFlorecita]

.

You do know CAS has stated accidental ingestion is far more likely than actual doping...?

 

[cineteq]

I'm so glad Scarponi got second in the Giro. I just can't stand Nibali.

If Beto Conti wouldn't have been there Lo Squalo would have approached the race different, thus he would have won the Giro 2011.

Ideally, it should be no winner - it'll be fair for the rest of the riders.

 

[sniper]

You do know CAS has stated accidental ingestion is far more likely than actual doping...?

Wrong.
They only say that the CLEN positive may not have resulted from doping, not that AC did not dope.
These guys have enough experience to know for sure that AC most likely did dope, even though the CLEN-positive itself may not be due to a transfusion.

Ow, the irony. Spends his life trying to fly under the radar using experimental drugs and microdosing his way up the Alpes, and then gets busted for taking a wrong food supplement.

 

[TheMight]

Gonna set a precedent for everyone who is busted for something now.. Drag this out with your federation as long as possible, take a month off for a nice vacation under the motto that you wouldnt ride cause of the investigation. Then drag it till CAS and keep racing, lose whatever you've won and get your punishment backdated so you can race in approx. 7 months.

Well, it's Spain...

Maybe the response should be "it's just Spain..."

Anyone know if AC has ever donated to UCI? Just curious. Maybe fans could like make donations in the name of their favorite riders in the future.

 

[happychappy]

Maybe he'll "retire", load up on so much EPO (etcetera) that it's coming out of his ears then do massive gear hill repeats all day.
Then come back in 2013 and win all 3 Grand Tours.

 

[T_S_A_R]

how can they decide that meat and doping are "equally unlikely"

for the meat story to be true you are talking a 100,000 to one shot.

for the transfusion you have to accept that a grand tour winner took clen in training, drew blood and transfused it on the rest day but was caught out by new testing methods.

i know which is more likely.

 

[Ildabaoth]

So I come back after a long long break and I get this news. I still can't decide if there isn't a better or a worse date to return... Anyways, happy 2012 everyone.

 

[craig1985]

I left this thread on page 36, comeback overnight, and 50 pages later!

 

[webvan]

how can they decide that meat and doping are "equally unlikely"

for the meat story to be true you are talking a 100,000 to one shot.

for the transfusion you have to accept that a grand tour winner took clen in training, drew blood and transfused it on the rest day but was caught out by new testing methods.

i know which is more likely.

I'm with you but apparently they came to that conclusion after looking at his blood parameters...

 

[Blakeslee]

You do know CAS has stated accidental ingestion is far more likely than actual doping...?

While I respect the panel's opinions in which they clearly spent a lot of time reviewing the evidence in the case, I still do not agree with their conclusions in this case. I still feel the most likely explanation is the blood transfusion theory, similar to the Landis case where the trace amounts were contained in a blood bag used by Contador during the tour. WADA may not have been able to conclusively prove the blood transfusion theory, but in light of what we have learned about the doping techniques being used in the peloton I would still consider it a strong possibility that Contador was transfusing blood.

 

[hrotha]

I'm with you but apparently they came to that conclusion after looking at his blood parameters...

No, Contador put forth his blood parameters as proof that there was no transfusion, but that was quite irrelevant for the Panel. The decisive thing was that the maths didn't add up. You'd need Contador or his donor to take lots of clen for an absurd length of time.

 

[cineteq]

Lance writes to Alberto:

Dear Alberto,

J'ai appris pour ta suspension, la perte de ton Tour de France, du Tour d'Italie, etc... Tu m'excuseras, mais je me suis marré. T'avoueras que ça ne manque pas de sel. Vendredi, la justice américaine me laisse tranquille et trois jours plus tard, tu prends deux ans !

http://www.rue89.com/rue89-sport/2012/02/06/armstrong-contador-dear-alberto-tu-tant-apprendre-229135

 

[Winternet_]

While I respect the panel's opinions in which they clearly spent a lot of time reviewing the evidence in the case, I still do not agree with their conclusions in this case. I still feel the most likely explanation is the blood transfusion theory, similar to the Landis case where the trace amounts were contained in a blood bag used by Contador during the tour. WADA may not have been able to conclusively prove the blood transfusion theory, but in light of what we have learned about the doping techniques being used in the peloton I would still consider it a strong possibility that Contador was transfusing blood.

"I think" or "I feel like" don't make the cut. You can't claim one thing is more probable because you feel like.

 

[El Pistolero]

If Beto Conti wouldn't have been there Lo Squalo would have approached the race different, thus he would have won the Giro 2011.

Ideally, it should be no winner - it'll be fair for the rest of the riders.

Without Contador Scarponi wouldn't have cracked at the Etna. I still consider Contador the victor there and always will. But I don't want the Nibali fanboys to even think about him having won the Giro.

 

[airstream]

Oh but I never joke about that sort of thing. He is and will always be the winner of those GTs.

What sensational has happened during the day? Yesterday you told you was shocked because he can be FAIRLY banned.

 

[Parrulo]

I left this thread on page 36, comeback overnight, and 50 pages later!

you should really start using 40ppp

only on page 22 for me