MADRID —Alberto Contador vowed Tuesday to return to the pinnacle of cycling, maintaining his innocence in the face of a two-year doping ban that stripped the Spaniard of his 2010 Tour de France title. He said his lawyers are considering whether to appeal the ban handed down by sport’s highest court and insisted that even if the punishment stands he will return to challenge for more Tour titles.
The penalty is retroactive and will expire in August.
“I’m sure of one thing: I want to come back to ride the best races,” Contador said, making his first comments since Monday’s verdict ended an 18-month doping investigation. Contador had previously hinted he might quit if banned for testing positive for clenbuterol on his way to winning a third Tour title in 2010.
Contador had based his defense on a bad steak, saying he must have digested the clenbuterol — a banned anabolic agent — by eating contaminated meat that his team imported from Spain during the Tour. The Court of Arbitration for Sport didn’t accept that scenario, saying it was more likely that it came from a food supplement.
CAS also announced it will publish a ruling Thursday on an appeal filed by the International Cycling Union to have 1997 Tour winner Jan Ullrich investigated for links to Operation Puerto, a 2006 Spanish doping probe.
The Associated Press
