Berzin said:
They are looking at their bottom lines and realizing that no Contador is no good for them. They can give him a token suspension that will keep him out of most early season races, but they need him at the Tour.
A lot of people assume this is the case, and it's certainly a good explanation as to why the case is dragging on. But why the effort to protect AC and not other winners? Floyd was thrown under the bus, no effort to protect him. Was it because he only won one Tour, was not as big a name as Bert? Or because testosterone is a little bigger deal than clenbuterol? There were enough complexities in the science to get Floyd off if someone in charge had really wanted to, plus the Landaluze precedent.
How about Basso and Ullrich? They were promising to wage a TDF for the ages, and they both got suspended the day before the race started. Neither had tested positive at the time, and neither has since. Again, if the powers that be had really wanted to have them in the race, they could have arranged it. What happened to the protection racket then?
So what's different about Bert? Is it the idea that the more TDFs you win, the harder it is to sanction you? You become too important to be suspended? But is Bert today really that much bigger a star than Ulle was in 2006? Surely Bert vs. Andy is not a bigger attraction than Ulle vs. Basso was back then.
Or could it be a matter of time? There was a blood-letting in 1998, then the TDF went through a (relatively) calm period. Then in 2006 the sh-t hit the fan again. Now maybe it's considered to be a calm period, and too soon for a bust of a major star?