Contador Suspended for Failed Test at Tour de France, UCI Says
By Dan Baynes
Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Three-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contadorwas provisionally suspended by cycling’s governing body for testing positive for a banned substance while winning this year’s race.
The Spaniard’s July 21 urine sample showed the presence of clenbuterol, the International Cycling Union, or UCI, said in an e-mailed statement. Clenbuterol treats respiratory disorders such as asthma and also acts as a stimulant. It is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances.
“The UCI continues working with the scientific support of WADA to analyze all the elements that are relevant to the case,” the governing body said. “This further investigation may take some more time.”
Contador, who beat Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck by 39 seconds to win this year’s edition of cycling’s biggest race, said the failed drug test was a “food contamination case,” the New York Times reported, citing a statement by his spokesman, Jacinto Vidarte.
Contador is scheduled to hold a news conference today in his hometown of Pinto, Spain, to give his version of events, the Times said. He’d already put an end to his cycling season before a second urine sample confirmed the initial positive result, the UCI said.
American Floyd Landis was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title after synthetic testosterone was found in his urine close to the end of the race.
A positive test for clenbuterol, a stimulant that increases aerobic capacity and the flow of oxygen in the bloodstream, led swimmer Jessica Hardy to leave the U.S. Olympic team in 2008 and eventually cost her a one-year suspension. Athletes in tennis, weightlifting and rugby also have tested positive for the substance.
To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Baynes in Sydney atdbaynes@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Elser at atcelser@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: September 29, 2010 22:56 EDT
...suspended, yes...striped of Le Tour title? just a matter of time?
ReplyDelete...they are doing more than asthma medicine,
...Andy, too...I mean, attacking in the high mountains, day after day, Jorge Jashke doctor said, along time ago that this is impossible to have achieve the recovery necessary without chemical support...one day yes, and then a couple days to recover, but attacking day after day, no way...
“The concentration found by the laboratory was estimated at 50 picograms (or 0,000 000 000 05 grams per ml) which is 400 time less than what the antidoping laboratories accredited by WADA must be able to detect.”
ReplyDelete...when news of the adverse finding first surfaced. That release pointed the finger at food contamination as the cause behind the issue.
"You can put your hand in the fire and not get burned," Contador meanwhile told Spanish radio on Thursday morning. "If it had been a clear case of doping it would have come out that week. The food poisoning occurred due to a eating a steak that had come from Spain."
...eating a steak during Le Tour? I thought they only were eating pasta...hmmmmm
Trace elements of the drug found in the human body can on occasion be attributed to food contamination. If it is found in larger amounts it usually points to deliberate doping.
ReplyDeleteRadioShack’s Fuyu Li recently was suspended after testing positive for clenbuterol at the 2010 Dwaars Door Vlaanderen in March.
Li similarly asserted that his low dosage was the result of contamination. His position was backed up by a Dutch anti-doping expert, Douwe de Boer, who said the amount found in his body points “clearly in the direction of a contamination” and that such a low dose would not aid performance.
Clenbuterol has been used by meat producers as a non-steroidal means of increasing muscle-to-fat ratios, although the method is banned in most countries. There have been several documented cases of food-borne clenbuterol contamination, including in the United States and Europe, although the most notable occurred in China. In the U.S., the only permitted veterinary use of the drug is to address respiratory ailments in horses.
One interested observer is Bjarne Riis, owner and manager of Saxo Bank, where Contador is slated to race next season in a two-year deal. Riis spoke overnight to Contador’s attorneys and spoke briefly to Contador this morning.
“Of course I’m worried. You know I am. I can’t say much more. I don’t know much more than you do. It’s hard to imagine that this has happened and that he would take this drug. It’s not a drug that makes you ride faster. It’s an old drug that has no effect what so ever, only side effects,” Riis told Danish TV station TV2. “I’ve had the same explanation that he has given everyone else and the same on that he will probably give at the press conference – that it must be caused by something he ate.”
say no more Bjarne, say no more...you know too much about these drugs and their effects...
Clenbuterol is not a steroid but does have anabolic properties that build muscle while burning fat. It is commonly given to horses to treat breathing problems. In medicine, it is used to treat asthma. In similar ways to stimulant drugs such as amphetamine or ephedrine, it can increase the heart rate and body temperature. Athletes and body builders are thought to use it in combination with other performance-enhancers such as growth hormone and steroids to build and define muscles. It is listed by WADA as an anabolic agent that is prohibited for use by athletes at all times, both in and out of competition.
ReplyDeleteAmerican swimmer Jessica Hardy tested positive for clenbuterol at the U.S. trials in July 2008. She served a one-year suspension that ended last summer. The Court of Arbitration for Sport accepted her explanation that she had unknowingly taken it in a contaminated food supplement.
A number of athletes have been banned in recent months after using the banned drug, including Polish canoeist Adam Seroczynski, British hurdler Callum Priestley and Chinese Olympic judo champion Tong Wen.
Two cyclists also have been accused of using the drug and suspended. In May, the International Cycling Union suspended Italian cyclist Alessandro Colo after he tested positive for clenbuterol during the Tour of Mexico in April. And Chinese rider Li Fuyu, a member of Armstrong's Team RadioShack, was suspended in April after testing positive during a Belgian race.
...from Charles...
ReplyDelete"These guys are incredulous. I love how its always food, or another supplement, or cough medicine. You'll note in Major League Baseball home runs are way down the last couple of years. Oddly, it corresponds to the timing of testing for steroids. Hmmmm. Still think all pro sports should allow the athletes to take whatever they want. I still want to see the 2 minute mile, a sub-4.0 40, and see someone hit a baseball out of an indoor stadium."
...from 2 SLOW...
ReplyDelete"I'm with Charles on this one. I want to the see the doped up physical freaks that don't fatigue and have explosive power.
But, I don't like Contador, I hope he gets his title stripped and awarded to Andy.
p.s. I think the 2:40 mile is more realistic Charles ;)"
...from Charles...
ReplyDelete"...but stuff like this always riles me up. Especially someone like this. I've always thought he was a douche bag, and that was before trying to blame a failed drug test on food. What an a$$hole."
Interesting dynamic of WES entering comments on behalf of Blog Illiterate associates.
ReplyDeleteI just watched Ken Burns documentary on Baseball "Tenth Inning" covering the Steroid chapter in the sport. Burns said he “tried to humanize” the steroids controversy, and said it’s “not as bad as the gambling scandals of the early 20th century” or “the exclusion of African-Americans for seven decades” (well, obviously not, in that case). Oh, and it gave Colbert a chance to riff on steroids making baseball more fun by giving fans more home runs.
Pressure to excel, Pressure to win. <a href="http://www.sportsgrid.com/mlb/ken-burns-baseball-colbert-report-video/>Put-descriptive-text-you-select-on-here</a>
A related line of debate:
ReplyDeleteWas Lance Armstrong doping over the course of his superhuman achievement of 7 Tour wins as Mr Landis claims?
Your opinion Mr.Schott?
...yes, of course
ReplyDeleteLance has got to be the luckiest man alive.
ReplyDeleteWould hate to see his heroic status and good works (cancer support) be diminished.