I'm not sure that I want to even jump in on this. There's a lot of anger for 50 picograms of Clenbuterol.
The weaknesses Sanz spoke of are like the expression, a chain is only as strong as the weakest link. He didn't mean there were mistakes, but there is more time, effort and money put on some things than others. Contador paid to commission studies and things, but there was a sense of urgency because they had to get them to the RFEC, and wanted the thing settled. They only had ten days to provide more data before the final resolution. They also now have the lawyer who brought free agency to soccer. They have him not speaking to the media, but there's no doubt that he'll be going for a minimum threshold for Clenbuterol and a change in Strict Liability.
Forget the plasticizers. Imagine there's a big case in a court room, where both sides have spent months gathering evidence and questioning witnesses. Then outside the building, there's a guy wearing a mask, hollering about some crime or evidence. Does the judge and jury decide the case based on the anonymous rumor?
I saw one article that mentioned he had 8 times the "normal level". That's not his normal level, or that of a guy well into a three week race who spends hours a day drinking out of a plastic bottle, a TacX Shiva with a special ingredient added to make the plastic break down quicker so the bottle is biodegradable. The last article I saw said that the plasticizer test will be ready for Summer 2012. It also said that in tests of normal people, a transfusion raised their own personal levels of plasticizer to TWENTY times their baseline.
Contador has repeated again, echoed by Ramos, that he has authorized them to freeze his urine and blood until the test is official, and verify away. You'll have your answer in a little over a year, so give it an effing rest for now. This is a legal case, and they don't deal with things that haven't been entered into evidence.
On the hair thing, WADA is the problem. All of the Tour de France samples that went to Lausanne had results returned within 72 hours. The Clenbuterol positive took from July 21 to August 25. Contador wears his hair short and well groomed. He wouldn't have had it cut during the 23 days of the race, but he did have crits after, and he has to look good for appearances and things. If WADA had given the positive before the end of the Tour, he could have done a meaningful hair test.
And news flash - if they wanted a hair sample, they could take one, out of competition. Remember in Spring 2009 when Lance was training in France, and he complained about the doctor clipping his hair, and said he had to have it cut afterward.
It's a part of the sport that we fans question riders, after being burned so many times. This article was a simple clarification of things that I've seen tons of times in Spanish articles, but don't make it inn full into English. He was just trying to get the facts out there. And if a benign article like that incites people to anger, I'd guess that their attitude towards Contador is pretty much the same as it was last July when he rode into Paris.
As for the original proposal of a one year sanction: First of all, we should not have even heard of it. It was to go in a letter to Contador only, with him having ten days to respond, with additional defense arguments. In the proposal, it was agreed that there was no intention to dope, and no performance enhancement. They agreed that Contador was innocent. The precedent had been set with other International cases that due to the Strict Liability rule, the innocent are sanctioned for one year. Found guilty, two years, didn't cheat, one year. Imagine that in your own life, with whatever you might be accused of. Contador's legal team brought the focus back on a couple of paragraphs where the innocent don't have to be punished, just like in real life.
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