Russian says new result would be valueless if Contador is disqualified
With the decision of the RFEC Competition Committee coming today or tomorrow, the cycling world will very soon learn what sanction will be handed down to Alberto Contador. Regardless of the suspension, under UCI and WADA rules, he looks almost certain to lose his Tour de France winner’s title, as riders are not eligible to keep results obtained after a positive test.
Contador is likely to fight on for that yellow jersey, but in the meantime Denis Menchov has said that he isn’t interested in being promoted to second place. The Russian rider finished third in last year’s Tour, ending the three week race two minutes and 1 second behind the Spanish victor. He was one minute 22 seconds off the runner-up slot of Andy Schleck. Moving up a step on the podium is not something that interests him.
“I hope that the result remains as it is. The third place is beautiful. A second place on paper tells me nothing,” he told De Telegraaf.
Menchov already has experience of being promoted after a positive test. He was runner-up in the 2005 Vuelta a España, yet was ultimately awarded the title after the Spaniard Roberto Heras tested positive for EPO. That’s not something he regards as a satisfying memory. “You will never get the same joy months later. It is only for the statistics.”
Schleck has also said that he doesn’t look forward to the possibility of moving up the classification because of Contador’s situation. It’s a sentiment that was expressed by Steven Rooks during the 1988 Tour de France when another Spaniard, Pedro Delgado, tested positive for probenicid. He was later cleared as the product was on the IOC banned list, but hadn’t yet made it onto the UCI’s version.