In June Cyclo reported that the Contador doping hearing had been rescheduled – yet again – from the original pre-Tour de France May date until a now come-and-gone end of June date and then to an August 1 date. Now we hear that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is likely to address issues relating the Spaniard’s alleged illegal use of clenbuterol (similar to the asthma drug salbutamol and gives advantageous aerobic capacity) during the 2010 Tour de France not before November. The decision comes partly as a result of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) asking for more time to compile evidence and “resolve arguments about scientific issues.” A statement on the CAS website reports: “As a consequence of the parties’ request, the hearing which was scheduled for 1, 2 and 3 August 2011 is cancelled and will be rescheduled for new dates, probably in November 2011.”
Since testing positive for the banned substance during the 2010 Tour Contador has remained adamant that he accidentally ingested the performance enhancer via contaminated meat. He was initially cleared by The Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) before that decision was challenged by the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The shadow of doubt continues to hover over the Saxo Bank-SunGard star but the sport as a whole…
