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Contador lawyers up

Race Radio said:
Looks like he is going to fight his eventual sanction. He hired Rocco Taminelli, Pellizotti's lawyer

http://www.repubblica.it/sport/ciclismo/2010/11/10/news/contador-8951760/?rss

Hopefully he fights it with tremendous energy. The harder the better.

We have great examples of those who spend a lot of money on Quixotic campaigns will ultimately come around and deliver the goods on Lance.

Once he does that, I would be ok with a pardon. After all, he probably hadn't blood doped with Clen in his system before.

Dave.
 
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as if there wasn't enough confusion and misconception in the case, the article mistakes clenbuterol (a banned substance found) for salbutamol (a substance contador has a tue for). they also called tamminelli an italian whilst other sources called him the swiss.

but there are some genuinely interesting news too:

- tamminelli's defence strategy supposedly will be to attack the principle of strict liability - a doomed and dumb effort imo.
- the dossier from the uci consists of 4 parts (part 1: A- and B- test results, part 2: study of contamination possibility (a challenge not solvable w/o hair tests imo), part 3: study of clen micro dosing possibility (the easiest to refute, imo) , prt 4: study of blood transfusion possibility (the real thing imo).
 
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Taminelli, who defended Pellizotti, Gusev and Scarponi, has been working for Contador for a month. I actually like going against the lack of a threshold considering the possibility of involuntary ingestion. Every other rider could have had thirty times as much Clenbuterol in their system as Contador but still come up negative.

I've been following the Google News for a while, so I'll post copies of my tweets here in case anyone is interested in the articles. There are a lot of individual puzzle pieces out there. Most recent on the top.

Contador attorney Andy Ramos has contacted an American professor who did some testing to see if Contador's story is plausible (in terms of amount, not the source of the steak)
http://www.sport.es/default.asp?idpublicacio_PK=44&idioma=CAS&idnoticia_PK=730331&idseccio_PK=1268

A bit more from Contador attorney Rocco Taminelli http://www.tuttobiciweb.it/index.php?page=news&cod=34120&tp=n

Rocco Taminelli has worked a month for Contador, says Alberto is a bit of a WADA scapegoat. #procycling http://preview.tinyurl.com/2dow54t

Opinion piece about @AlbertoContador by a Spanish doctor citing previous studies about Clenbuterol in cyclists http://tinyurl.com/39448e3

WADA is preparing for the @AlbertoContador case. #procycling http://preview.tinyurl.com/32pxy77

Informative Carlos Castano interview about Contador case #procycling http://preview.tinyurl.com/297clus

Details about the Spanish Cycling Federation Competition Committee #procycling http://preview.tinyurl.com/2dndgtd

Contador has the receipt for the steak #procycling http://preview.tinyurl.com/26pbhsk

# More about the Contador case, lawyers, likelihood that WADA, not UCI, will go to CAS. #procycling http://preview.tinyurl.com/2ao97n2 9:03 PM Nov 9th via web

Contador hired Pellizotti's lawyer #procycling http://preview.tinyurl.com/23w43hg 7:28 PM Nov 9th via web


The UCI sent the Spanish Cycling Federation more than 600 pages of documents on Contador #procycling http://preview.tinyurl.com/29qxpb4 5:42 PM Nov 9th via web


Castano said that if complexity of the Contador case requires Spanish limit of 3 months, so be it #procycling http://tinyurl.com/28zd5gn 3:56 PM Nov 9th via web

This seems to say @AlbertoContador asked the UCI to request the disciplinary proceedings + quotes #procycling http://preview.tinyurl.com/29jbcxx 1:20 PM Nov 9th via web

That YT video apology from Contador to Schleck was Riis' idea? Yipes! #procycling http://ekstrabladet.dk/sport/cykling/article1446379.ece 10:30 AM Nov 7th via web

The rest of this is off-topic and was probably discussed elsewhere - sorry, I haven't been around.

I think there's some pretty shady stuff going on with the UCi & WADA over this and other issues. For instance, Howman took heat over the recommendation for off hour testing, and he separated WADA from the Independent Observers who made the recommendation, and claimed a reporter misinterpreted it, even though it's right there in English on their website.

But there are discrepancies between the UCI stories about whether they did the A & B samples before talking to Contador, or the newer version that says he requested it. They also claim that they received notice of the positive A sample on August 23, a month and 2 days after the sample. They had the Lausanne Lab turn all of their many samples around in 72 hours. I believe I read that ten total went to Cologne, where there was no agreement, but IO said all results were back within the ten working day lab standard. Now the UCI says it was more than a month for the result. So the Cologne Lab is slow, and has a number of people who like to leak confidential information to the press to the detriment of an athlete?

The worst for me was looking at the chart at the end of the TdF report. If I'm reading it correctly, a grand total of 144 samples were tested for EPO and ONLY for EPO, for the whole race. 33 blood samples were tested for HGH and ONLY for HGH, with at least 1 rider having more than one in that count. 32 samples were tested for CERA.

124 blood samples went only for Biological Passport info, without testing for banned substances. Then there was the nonsense below, and remember, this was what they did when every movement was being watched, unlike the Giro or Vuelta

• While recognising the high level of testing and a focus on targeting riders in the Pre-Tour period (i.e. April to June 2010) it was noted that there were a number of riders of significance who took part in the Tour who had either not been tested during the Pre-Tour period or who had only been tested once (with the majority of these for the ABP).
• During the Tour, a number of riders demonstrating suspicious profiles and/or showing significantly impressive performances at the Tour were tested on surprisingly few occasions and for three riders of interest did not provide a blood sample for the purposes of anti-doping in the whole Tour (instead each providing a single sample for the ABP). This was consistent with the IO Team’s view that at times more weight was given by the UCI to ABP samples than samples for the detection of the ‘presence’ of prohibited substances and/or methods.
• The IO Team was surprised to see that a random draw was conducted for Post-Finish testing on two stages. The IO Team did question the rationale of even conducting a random draw, and while recognising that the particular stage was a flat one (which usually finishes in a bunch sprint), it seemed a missed opportunity not to use the intelligence available to the UCI or even base the selections on the performance of the riders in the stage. This was considered by the UCI after the first random draw was conducted and the IO Team only observed one further random draw being conducted again on the Tour.
• A rider identified as having a priority index of eight (with ten being the highest and most at risk of doping) was tested only once (urine EPO) during the Pre-Tour period with no blood sample collected for the analysis of CERA, HBT, HBOC or other prohibited substances and/or methods. During the Tour recommendations from the Laboratory related to target testing for EPO did not seem to be conducted expediently or as appropriate (ie. the EPO test was conducted 6 days later while the blood sample was only analysed for hGH). Lastly, following a significant delay in providing an early morning sample and in conjunction with the intelligence already held on this rider, there seems no evidence of more intense target testing on this rider.
• For a rider identified as having a priority index of ten, no blood samples were collected following the Laboratory recommendations after interpretation of blood passport data from the first week of the Tour, with only urine being collected and no blood as recommended by the Laboratory. Further, a recommendation to target test the rider for EPO took seven days to be executed.
• A rider identified as having a priority index of ten was not tested for either urine or blood from 3 April to the start of the Tour. Recommendations made by the Laboratory following testing in the first three days of the Tour resulted in no further blood samples being collected but rather only urine and approximately ten days later. The IO Team became aware of the remarks made by the laboratory regarding the analysis of this rider’s specific sample that raised the suspicion of the use of proteases. No further information regarding any actions taken by the UCI for further analysis of that sample was made available.
• For a rider identified as having a priority index of eight, who was recommended to be target tested for EPO by the Laboratory, the UCI did not target test the rider and in addition a sample collected five days later was not analysed for EPO. Interestingly in this case collection of follow-up samples from this rider was initiated by the AFLD via the WADA Resolution
http://www.wada-ama.org/Documents/W...endent-Observer/WADA_IO_Report_TDF2010_EN.pdf
 
Libertine Seguros said:
Were Valverde's lawyers not available or something?
These gentlemen?
lawyers.png
 
theswordsman said:
...
Rocco Taminelli has worked a month for Contador, says Alberto is a bit of a WADA scapegoat. #procycling http://preview.tinyurl.com/2dow54t

...
I think there's some pretty shady stuff going on with the UCi & WADA over this and other issues. ...
Was it a bit of a WADA scapegoat, or the UCI throwing a bit of a bone knowing the Spanish Federation would jump in to save him while protecting all of the other suspicious passport profiles?

Dave.
 
theswordsman said:


Thank you for this info.

After reading this, I have came to the mild conclusion that the testing is a joke and beatable. You can be heavily tested, but out of competition, pre and post event is so sporadic, that the possibilities for being caught are not very good. You can have a high probability of doping, but not even be tested properly. You could be doing HGH, and they test only for EPO and you are home free. I understand the cost is a limiting factor.

Perhaps with the high costs involved, that the teams should be required to test the riders on behalf of the WADA through recognized labs, and prior to entry into events, these tests must be logged and verified? That way some of the testing costs are picked up by the teams, and we cant argue as much that the cost is prohibitive.
 
auscyclefan94 said:
Yeah, surely he and valverde share a lot so you would of thought that valverde would of lent contador a hand.

Valverde wants to win the Tour. Before Contadors thing he said he would like to help Contador win. He realised he couldnt beat Contador.

Now if Contador gets 2 years, then in 2011 only Andy Schleck, and an ASO decision to reintroduce bonus seconds stands between Alejandro Valverde and cycling imortality.
 
http://www.marca.com/2010/11/10/ciclismo/1289412835.html

basically this says, contador and his entourenment are happy with the dossier sent by UCI to RFEC, the dossier says pausible food contamination as the source as UCI/AMA both say, Then?

minor or no sanction and the UCI/AMA don't go to CAS


UCI doesn't want a war against contador, UCI doesnt want an exemplary sanction, the problem lays in UCI/AMA war. If AMA won't exist, UCI would have close the case allready...
 

Dr. Maserati

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Aguirre said:
http://www.marca.com/2010/11/10/ciclismo/1289412835.html

basically this says, contador and his entourenment are happy with the dossier sent by UCI to RFEC, the dossier says pausible food contamination as the source as UCI/AMA both say, Then?

minor or no sanction and the UCI/AMA don't go to CAS


UCI doesn't want a war against contador, UCI doesnt want an exemplary sanction, the problem lays in UCI/AMA war. If AMA won't exist, UCI would have close the case allready...

You always need to be careful when you read anything from a lawyer when they are representing someone in the case.

According to this article the UCI sent 4 different scenario's as to how clenbuterol may have been found in ACs sample.
1. Clen through meat contamination.
2. Clen through contaminated supplement.
3. Clen as a stand alone PED.
4. Clen from a blood transfusion.
 
I'd also say that bonus seconds help Valverde because of his sprint. That's why the '09 Vuelta was a bit of a washout; Caisse were happy to let the break go because nobody could get the bonus seconds, the other riders were unwilling to chase and try to win because Valverde would beat them in the sprint.

acf - Valverde and Contador may be friends and all, but one thing Valverde doesn't share with his mate is the ability to get caught - that's why his lawyers were able to do what they did. Ultimately all they were doing was filibustering, Valverde was always going to get banned... but how long could they hold it off for? The answer was "a very long time". Conti doesn't have the benefit of no positive test, meaning they're trying to cancel a suspension rather than delay one.

If Mosquera or Sevilla wanted to hire Valverde's lawyers, however, then it could get interesting since both are entitled to ride at present.
 
skidmark said:
Well, those things and his own ban which doesn't end until January 1st 2012...
woops. I meant 2012. Point being that he has 1 year without Contador.

I'd also say that bonus seconds help Valverde because of his sprint.

Thats what i meant.

With enough tt, and a few mountain stages with a flat finish where GC guys come in together, I see Valverde beating Schleck. Anyway thats a discussion for another thread.

Things dont look good for Contador. Surely he would prefer the ban to come in the off season rather than fresh headlines when the season starts.
 

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