LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Sport’s highest court completed a four-day hearing into Alberto Contador’s doping case Thursday, and the Spanish rider must now wait until early next year to find out if he will be stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title.
Contador made a final, personal appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport panel to complete his defense that eating contaminated steak caused his positive tests for clenbuterol during his third Tour victory.
“He spoke for about 15 minutes,” CAS secretary general Matthieu Reeb said. “He took the case very seriously. He was present for all the case and attended all the discussions.”
Reeb said the three-man panel would need “six to eight weeks” to reach a verdict and explain its decision.
Cycling’s governing body and the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed to CAS for Contador to get a two-year ban after he was cleared by a Spanish cycling federation tribunal last February.
If found guilty of doping, Contador can expect to receive a two-year ban and be stripped of his 2010 Tour win and other victories, including the 2011 Giro d’Italia. He finished fifth when defending his Tour title in July. The Associated Press
