Spain’s Alberto Contador became the latest Tour de France winner to be dragged into a doping scandal after announcing Thursday he tested positive for a banned substance during this year’s race, putting a cloud of suspicion back over a sport that has been plagued for years by drug use.
Contador – cycling’s biggest star since Lance Armstrong – immediately launched a passionate defence, blaming the whole thing on a tasty but supposedly contaminated steak he ate for lunch during a rest day on this summer’s Tour. His urine sample showed a “very small concentration” of the banned substance clenbuterol on July 21, 2010, the International Cycling Union (UCI) said.
“It is a clear case of food contamination,” Contador told a packed news conference in his hometown near Madrid.
The guys at the Sports Scientists dig a little deeper on this issue, linking to some comments from anti-doping expert Dr. Don Catlin.
Is it possible? Or is it just an excuse? Time will tell… but for now, Contador has been suspended by the UCI pending further scientific investigation.
– Canadian Press
Photo: Getty Images
