Alberto Contador accused of doping in 2010 Tour de France victory

Contador may not have won the 2010 Tour de France fair and square after a failed substance examination during the race was revealed Wednesday. He vehemently rejected the charges in an emotional appearance at a press event Thursday. 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 thinks the meat was the issue

The Tour de France was something Alberto Contador was looking forward to as the world's greatest cyclist. Unfortunately, the day before it began on July 21, he tested positive. Wednesday, the International cycling Union released a statement about what was in his 2 urine samples, reports the NY Times. A weight-loss and muscle building drug called clenbuterol was what was found in his system. In a news conference Thursday, Contador called himself a victim and said he had eaten meat tainted with the drug at his hotel. He also claimed he couldn't have done better with the substance anyway. He said the amounts found in his samples were too small to matter.

Contador connected with doping within the past

The next thing on Contador's list is to clear his name of charges. He was suspended from racing claims Cable News Network. This came from the International Cycling Union. In 2006, the Spanish blood-doping ring has Contador linked right now it, what with the sport having doping being something most do. He won the Tour de France in 2007. This was the first time he was able to do so. He joined a team prohibited from races because of doping violations. This was in 2008, and the team was Astana. In 2009, his second Tour title was won. Lance Armstrong came third in this race. He has won seven titles previously though. There is only one person ever to have lost their title due to testing positive in the Tour de France. This was Floyd Landis who was an American.

Several certain by Contador's scenario

Some experts believe Contador’s claim that tainted meat caused his positive drugging test. Universal Sports reports that clenbuterol is often given to chicken, cows and pigs to speed up growth. The liver and muscle is where the drug ends up staying. Also many bodybuilders use clenbuterol. They’ll use it to try and burn off fat faster while building up their muscles. It is easier to exercise aerobically with the drug too. It gets more oxygen to muscles making it hurt less. Its short term effects are similar to amphetamines. But Dr. Andrew Franklyn-Miller, a sports medicine expert, told Universal that it would have been impossible for Contador to get a boost from ingesting clenbuterol-spiked meat.

Data from

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