Contador at TdF? 'fraid so

Appeal or no appeal, the Spanish cycling federation’s ruling paves way for a likely title defence at La Grande Boucle, writes Anthony Tan.

As I file this blog, it is in the wee hours of Thursday morning here in Australia; a shade under 24 hours since the Spanish cycling federation (RFEC) contacted Alberto Contador's legal team 4 p.m. Tuesday in Spain, notifying them of their decision to exonerate the 2010 Tour de France champion of any doping charges.

It has taken me till now to sift through the voluminous stories that have circulated around the world, and the overwhelming majority of fans appear to believe the RFEC's decision to overturn their initial recommendation for a one-year suspension was an injustice – legal and moral. But if you go back to the date when the RFEC made its recommendation on 26 January, according to Spanish news sources, they said that they accepted Contador's argument that he unknowingly ingested clenbuterol – which made the initial push for a one-year suspension out of kilter with their rhetoric.

So, ignoring the pressure from the Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and the obvious desire to protect a national hero, Tuesday's decision by the RFEC to absolve Contador of any wrongdoing is actually consistent with their beliefs and in line with Article 296 of the UCI's anti-doping regulations; their initial recommendation was not.

What we should be questioning, therefore – and the UCI/WADA, should they wish to lodge an appeal to Switzerland's Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which they must do 30 days from the RFEC's ruling – is whether their beliefs are consistent with the evidence presented by Contador's legal team.

Let's also remember that the evidence presented has not yet been made public (the UCI/WADA are also yet to receive the full case file), so until we see this – and, more importantly, till CAS sees it, should the UCI/WADA appeal – we perhaps should refrain on conclusively damning Contador and saying the RFEC is as corruptible as a beggar in the Bronx.

One other observation I will make is this: Contador is perhaps one of the most boring persons in a press conference situation (I have not interviewed him one-on-one but I've heard he's equally dull in that regard, too) – but when the news came out about him testing positive for clenbuterol on 29 September last year, he was unusually animated and vocal in his press conference the very next day – far more than when he answered questions about his involvement with Operación Puerto in 2006, when his entire Astana team withdrew from that year's Tour de France (he was later cleared of any involvement by a Spanish high court judge). It's just an observation, but his vociferous denial of any wrongdoing from day one to the present showed a spark that I haven't seen in him, even more so than any of his triplet of Tour de France wins.

Remember also that Contador has called for the UCI to freeze his urine and blood samples until a future date when technological advances are able to disprove his positive test for clenbuterol – and thus verify his tainted beef theory – meaning even if the UCI/WADA chose to appeal and CAS upholds the RFEC's decision, anti-doping scientists still have seven-and-a-half years to bust the Spaniard and for ASO to void his 2010 Tour win (Olympic athletes have samples frozen for eight years) – should he be lying, that is.

I have little doubt a validated test for both autologous blood doping and placticizers, traces of which were reported to have been detected in his urine in the July 21 test at last year's Tour and reported by the New York Times on October 4, will be up and running well before the eight-year time limit expires. In fact the director general of WADA, David Howman, told the NYT the test for placticizers, used in the food industry for years but recently adapted for anti-doping purposes, is imminent: "It is in the final stages of validation," he said.

But for now, it seems, a precedent has been set.

Hours before news of Contador's clearing by the RFEC, a NYT article quoted Travis Tygart, CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), who said exoneration of athletes using food contamination as an excuse is rare. So rare, in fact, I can't recall it happening before. "It's a very, very unique set of facts that would justify someone being completely cleared, so unique that we haven't seen it at all, at least here in the United States," said Tygart. "If there's truly been a flip-flop, as reported, it appears to be a classic example of the fox protecting the henhouse. It would look like they are protecting a national hero."

Therefore, until we hear more, we must assume Contador's legal team proved he was not at fault for ingesting the contaminated beef, but they also proved its origin; down to the butcher or all the way to the slain cow, I'm not sure.

Going forward, I don't believe the UCI or national cycling federations should be dealing with the policing of doping cases. As cycling author William Fotheringham so rightly pointed out on Cyclingnews there is simply too much vested interest in national federations making such judgements, especially when it comes to high-profile athletes – and especially in a country like Spain which deals with a disproportionate volume of doping infractions. If the CAS can handle it – and if not, the 18 ProTeams should have to donate a portion of its monies to enable CAS to handle all cases involving cyclists – all doping cases should be dealt by the Lausanne-based court, in my opinion.

Some Spanish outlets have already reported we can expect to see Contador at this year's Giro, which begins in Turin on 7 May. Does that mean we can expect to see AC at the Tour, also? If ASO invite him and his Saxo Bank team, the answer is yes.

The UCI's spokesperson, Enrico Carpani, told the NYT that even if the UCI/WADA were to appeal, the process from lodgement of the appeal to final verdict by CAS typically takes four months (taking us to the end of June); and in a case with so much riding on it, longer still, I would surmise.

The 98th Tour de France starts on 2 July. And the clock is ticking.