Contador Update

Just a brief update as to what to expect in the coming weeks regarding the Contador case.

He did file his appeal a few days ago stating his final defense, and believe it or not he may not be dead in the water yet.

He claims (and a Spanish tabloid also reported) that he has convinced the Spanish cycling federation that it was indeed the contaminated meat that caused for the clenbuterol to test positive.

Now even if that was the case they could still suspend him on grounds that he may have intentionally eaten the meat but he says that they cannot because of a provision to the UCI anti-doping rules.

In Article 296 (heavily concentrated on by Contador and his camp) it states that a rider cannot be punished if he "bears no fault or negligence." Contador is using the defense that Spanish beef is tested and therefore he should have had no reason to suspect that his steak was contaminated.

Rumor has it that several members of the Spanish Cycling Federation agree with him, but that may not translate into his ban being reduced/lifted. Especially considering that 1 year is already significantly lower than the usual 2 years for a case like this.

The facts seem to support it, except for one tiny little detail that nobody can really make heads or tails of. He tested positive in 4 occasions, with the first being on the second rest day, which is the date he consumed the supposedly contaminated steak.

The next 2 show a gradual decrease in the clenbuterol from the system until the 4th shows a tiny spike. Now where on earth did this spike come from?

Note that the initial amount detected was so small that it is hard to believe anyone would even bother with a dose of that size. This spike between the 3rd and 4th tests is only a fraction of that and I'm not even sure they can safely give a "micro-dose" like that.

But in general Contador's story so far is foolproof. The fact that he is getting very involved in it rather than constantly hiding behind lawyers also shows his determination to prove his innocence.

He had pondered the idea of retiring from the sport because of it, but decided not to. Now, he simply says that he will "fight to the end."

The way I see it, he is either telling the truth (or most of it anyway) or he is one of the best liars I've seen in a while.