Alberto Contador of Spain tested positive for a prohibited substance during the 2010 Tour de France, which he won. The cyclist denied that he knowingly ingested any banned substance during the race in a news conference September 30. Contador could lose his 2010 Tour title and be suspended from competition for 2 years. He said tainted animal meat was the source of the banned substance in his urine.
Contador states it’s the animal meat
July 21 was a terrible day for world’s greatest cyclist Alberto Contador as he tested positive, right before the Tour de France started on the mountain stage. The NY Times reports that a statement released Wednesday by the International Cycling Union said 2 urine samples taken from Contador that day tested positive for traces of clenbuterol, a weight-loss and muscle-building drug. Contador made a statement on Thurs about every little thing. He said that the only reason his urine samples had that was because at the hotel, someone had tainted the animal meat he ate. His other part of the statement was saying he wouldn’t have performed any better with the tiny amounts of the clenbuterol found in the samples anyway.
Drugs were a part of Contador’s past life
Contador will not stand for being known this way. He needs to get his name cleared. He was suspended from racing claims CNN. This came from the International Cycling Union. Most individuals in his sport are known for drugging. In fact, Contador was linked to the 2006 Spanish blood-doping ring. He won the Tour de France in 2007. This was the first time he was able to do so. Astana was a team that was banned from racing because of doping, but he joined them in 2008 anyway. He then won another Tour title. This was in 2009. Lance Armstrong, a seven-time winner, finished third. There is only one person ever to have lost their title due to testing positive within the Tour de France. This was Floyd Landis who was an American.
A few specialists trust Contador’s claim
Some experts believe Contador’s claim that tainted meat caused his positive drugging examination. Universal Sports reports that clenbuterol is often given to chicken, cows and pigs to speed up growth. The liver and muscle is where the substance ends up staying. Also many bodybuilders use clenbuterol. They will use it to try and burn off fat faster while building up their muscles. It is easier to exercise aerobically with the substance too. It gets more oxygen to muscles making it hurt less. Short term, amphetamines can have the very same effect of it. Dr. Andrew Franklin-Miller is a sports expert. He said that it would not be possible for Contador to be affected by meat with clenbuterol in it.
Articles cited
New York Times
nytimes.com/2010/10/01/sports/cycling/01cycling.html?ref=sports
CNN
cnn.com/2010/SPORT/09/30/cycling.alberto.contador.banned/index.html?npt=NP1
Universal Sports
universalsports.com/news/article/newsid=494315.html
