Alberto Contador stripped of 2010 Tour de France title

Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador has been stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title for drug use. He was found to have traces of clenbuterol in his system which he blamed on tainted meat he had eaten from a Spanish butcher.

Contador tested positive for the drug on the second rest day of the 2010 Tour and was originally cleared and allowed to race. But after an appeal last March by the Union Cycliste Internationale and the World Anti Doping Agency against the leniency of the decision, it was decided that Contador receive a back-dated two-year ban and be stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title. He is only the second ever rider to be stripped of the crown.

This means that Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck is the new 2010 Tour de France winner.

“This is a sad day for sport. Some may think of it as a victory but that is not the case. There are no winners when it comes to the issue of doping. Every case is always a case too many,” Union Cycliste Internationale president Pat Macquaid said.