Decision could come ‘any day’
The lawyers for Alberto Contador have disclosed that they are using the results of several previous cases as part of their defence against anti-doping charges, including the appeal lodged by tennis player Richard Gasquet against his cocaine positive.
Gasquet was found to have levels of the drug in his system in March 2009. He argued that he had not taken it directly, but that traces of it got into his body when he kissed a woman who had used it at a nightclub. A tribunal cleared him, the International Tennis Federation and WADA appealed this, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned their attempt to have a two year ban imposed. He served a two and a half months suspension.
Contador’s lawyers are also basing their case on that of the German table tennis player Dimitrij Ovtcharov, who was cleared by his national federation this year after testing positive for Clenbuterol. He said that he accidentally consumed it in China – incidentally, a country with a higher incidence of Clenbuterol contamination than Spain – and escaped a ban. WADA recently lodged an appeal with CAS over this.
Contador’s lawyer Andy Ramos told the Associated Press that a decision could come ‘any day’ from the Spanish cycling federation RFEC. He said that he and his legal team were aiming to prove Contador’s assertion that he didn’t knowingly ingest Clenbuterol.
“Not one of the scientists we have worked with has said it couldn’t have been anything but contamination,” Ramos told the AP in a telephone interview. “The levels are ridiculous — it couldn’t be anything else.”
The UCI and WADA are awaiting the RFEC decision, and will have the right to appeal the result to CAS if they don’t agree with what is decided.
Contador’s efforts to show that the Clenbuterol traces came from tainted beef were investigated by WADA, which reportedly commissioned experts to assess whether or not the butcher where he bought the meat could have stocked steak that was affected in this way.
It is likely to have also studied the 28 year old’s biological passport profile. Unconfirmed media reports suggested that his samples may have shown a surge in plasticizers. If true, this could point towards a possible transfusion.
The Spaniard has insisted that he has never taken doping substances, and has pledged to clear his name. He is currently suspended pending the final resolution of his case, but was able to attend the recent Saxo Bank-Sungard training camp in Fuerteventura.