# It's official. One year for Contador



## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

*Possible verdict on Thursday*

I'm not even going to care if he's innocent or guilty. Will they actually make a decision THIS Thursday?  

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-to-get-a-one-year-ban

So.....any bets? Thursday or no decision.

I'm thinking this might drag out another month.


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## gobes (Sep 12, 2006)

I hope that he gets two years like others have received.


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## ttug (May 14, 2004)

*my bet?*

He will ride the Vuelta.

It will be a good thing if Andy gets the TDF jersey

Odds are, no TDF for him this year, but hey who knows? Look at who won the Angliru in 08.........


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## DiegoMontoya (Apr 11, 2010)

El Pais is reporting it now.


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## ewitz (Sep 11, 2002)

*Alberto Banned for a Year*

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/ot...dor-banned-failing-dope-test-Tour-France.html


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## parity (Feb 28, 2006)

Just enough time so he can do the Vuelta.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

I don't get the logic. Either he doped intentionally, or he didn't. If he didn't they should let him ride. If he did, 2 years.


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## krisdrum (Oct 29, 2007)

ibtm.

I wonder what the fall-out will be if the ban sticks. TdF title stripped? Uninvite Saxo to the 2011 TdF?


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## NUTT (Apr 15, 2008)

WWFloydD?


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## multirider (Nov 5, 2007)

Um, so if he doped then he should be stripped of the TdF title?


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## Bullvine (Sep 9, 2009)

Creakyknees said:


> I don't get the logic. Either he doped intentionally, or he didn't. If he didn't they should let him ride. If he did, 2 years.


Yep I agree ether he violated the rule or he didn't.. I'm thinking they should just let them dope and be done with it.


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## DIRT BOY (Aug 22, 2002)

Alberto Contador given one-year ban by Spanish Federation http://goo.gl/fb/FQfCM #cycling


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## rward325 (Sep 22, 2008)

IBTM 

It should be 2 years and TdF title stripped or nothing! Either he did it or he didn't.

WWFD?


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## tron (Jul 18, 2004)

I wonder what the start date will be?


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

Wow.

Stripped of the TDF win as well.


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

*Yeah, but that ain't the rule.*

This has been hacked to death ad nauseam.

The rule isn't "did he try to dope," the rule is " is there a banned substance in your body?" 

And, there is no minimum threshold for clen, so, it's binary -- you either have it in your system, or you do not, period.

I don't agree that this is a great system, either, but, it is the rules.



Creakyknees said:


> I don't get the logic. Either he doped intentionally, or he didn't. If he didn't they should let him ride. If he did, 2 years.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

*did you guys read the article?*



multirider said:


> Um, so if he doped then he should be stripped of the TdF title?





> The committee also decided to strip Contador of the 2010 Tour title, added El Pais. Contador's spokesman and the RFEC could not immediately be reached for comment.
> 
> A spokesman for cycling's world governing body (UCI) was unable to confirm the RFEC decision and said his organisation would be in touch with the Spanish federation on Thursday.


I don't know whether the competition committee of the Spanish cycling federation has the power to do that, but it seems they intend to.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

I'll be a monkey's uncle. They finally followed through. I was figuring another month or two, at least.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

IBTM.

Should be two. He cheated, he got caught. Man up and pay your dues, buddy.


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## Kai Winters (Aug 23, 2009)

Hooray !
Let's see if he is man enough to stick to his "pistolero" and quit as he has threatened to do if found guilty.


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

Kai Winters said:


> Hooray !
> Let's see if he is man enough to stick to his "pistolero" and quit as he has threatened to do if found guilty.


I thought he said he'd quit if it was a two year ban.


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## Dan Gerous (Mar 28, 2005)

Vino also quit cycling when he got busted. If Alberto does, I wouldn't be surprised if it's a one year quit (even less as the suspension will probably be back dated by a few months).


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## DIRT BOY (Aug 22, 2002)

cda 455 said:


> I thought he said he'd quit if it was a two year ban.


Correct. Maybe this was a one year ban to pacify him?

He will "retire" effective immediately, then come out of retirement after his ban is up.


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## frpax (Feb 13, 2010)

What I'm having a hard time understanding, is when did he actually test positive?

The claim was that he ingested the beef on the 2nd rest day of the TdF. So did he test positive the next day? If so, why wasn't he thrown off the Tour _that day_? 

I also can't wrap my head around this 1 year thing...


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## Gee3 (Jan 31, 2006)

So does that mean Fuyu Li will get his sentence reduced to one year? 

Oh wait, he's just a domestique! My bad!


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

krisdrum said:


> ibtm.
> 
> I wonder what the fall-out will be if the ban sticks. TdF title stripped? Uninvite Saxo to the 2011 TdF?


If the TDF applies previous logic, Astana will be uninvited again. Saxo, no problem!


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## rydbyk (Feb 17, 2010)

Good news!


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## Kai Winters (Aug 23, 2009)

cda 455 said:


> I thought he said he'd quit if it was a two year ban.


Tomato...tomato...just want to hear him whine hehehe...

Want a little whine with that "beef" Pistolero???


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## peter584 (Aug 17, 2008)

Maybe he'll get two years on his next offense.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

peter584 said:


> Maybe he'll get two years on his next offense.


for plasticizers?


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

Kai Winters said:


> Tomato...tomato...just want to hear him whine hehehe...
> 
> Want a little whine with that "beef" Pistolero???


:lol:


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## BAi9302010 (Mar 7, 2002)

frpax said:


> What I'm having a hard time understanding, is when did he actually test positive?
> 
> The claim was that he ingested the beef on the 2nd rest day of the TdF. So did he test positive the next day? If so, why wasn't he thrown off the Tour _that day_?
> 
> I also can't wrap my head around this 1 year thing...


They probably had to wait for the results of the b-sample. The same thing happened with Landis from what I can remember. 

The punishment should be the same that Landis got. Both tested positive for an illegal substance and gave "my dog ate my homework" excuses. One got two years out of competition and an additional two years out of the Protour. The other gets a one year ban, with no mention of being excluded from the World Tour following the suspension. Just shows how corrupt the Spanish cycling federation is.


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## RkFast (Dec 11, 2004)

BAi9302010 said:


> They probably had to wait for the results of the b-sample. The same thing happened with Landis from what I can remember.
> 
> The punishment should be the same that Landis got. Both tested positive for an illegal substance and gave "my dog ate my homework" excuses. One got two years out of competition and an additional two years out of the Protour. The other gets a one year ban, with no mention of being excluded from the World Tour following the suspension. Just shows how corrupt the Spanish cycling federation is.


Not to defend Pistolero but he did get his TDF title stripped and thats nothing to shake a stick at.


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## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

So is it official as of right now that Andy won last years tour?

Now.. that has to be bitter sweet. Winning by a rule instead of performance. This year he'll have to really kill it and earn it properly.


I don't feel sorry for AC at all.. Cheaters aren't helping our sport and now we just have another media monkey.


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## rydbyk (Feb 17, 2010)

ZoSoSwiM said:


> So is it official as of right now that Andy won last years tour?
> 
> Now.. that has to be bitter sweet. Winning by a rule instead of performance. This year he'll have to really kill it and earn it properly.
> 
> ...



Yeh...sort of. Andy wins based on "clean performance", not doped. I say..yeh right...they were both dopes. It is what it is..


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

I lol'd at this "clarification" from the UCI:

"the UCI regrets the inappropriate speculation that has characterised the proceedings "


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## Hula Hoop (Feb 4, 2009)

Will the suspension be deemed to have retroactively taken effect 7/25/10?
I have yet to see anything definitive on that facet, and of course the Vuelta
would be at stake in 2011.


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## rydbyk (Feb 17, 2010)

Hula Hoop said:


> Will the suspension be deemed to have retroactively taken effect 7/25/10?
> I have yet to see anything definitive on that facet, and of course the Vuelta
> would be at stake in 2011.



does everyone assume that contador will still be a contender in every race IF he is truly racing clean in the future?

seems like nobody comes back, races clean and does well....


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## ragweed (Jan 2, 2009)

Basso won the Giro last year and presumably clean.


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## rydbyk (Feb 17, 2010)

ragweed said:


> Basso won the Giro last year and presumably clean.



How could I forget that one? Thx. Gives Conti hope I guess.... I just think of all the stars in all sports that have been busted for some sort of PED and come back to the sport "clean', yet rarely ever produce results worthy of notice. Shawn Merriman (Chargers), for example...


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

rydbyk said:


> seems like nobody comes back, races clean and does well....


How would you know?


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## Richard (Feb 17, 2006)

rydbyk said:


> seems like nobody comes back, races clean and does well....


David Miller, perhaps.


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## rydbyk (Feb 17, 2010)

mohair_chair said:


> How would you know?


good pt.


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## BAi9302010 (Mar 7, 2002)

ragweed said:


> Basso won the Giro last year and presumably clean.


It took Basso over a year to return to his top form. He finished in 5th in the Giro and 4th in the Vuelta in 2009. It's a pretty slow rebuilding process when you're out of racing for that long.


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## Hula Hoop (Feb 4, 2009)

Oh, he will come back. He is remakably gifted genetically,
even among his fellow riders he is a standout.
Don't kid yourself, as much as we may despise cheats,
he is the real deal, with or without drugs.


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## kbwh (May 28, 2010)

Everybody claim they are clean when busted.

But what if it was only the meat and there is a reasonable explanation to the plasticisers too? I mean: The rules are the rules, but are they right?


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## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

Way too much gray area.. Everyone would blame something else. It needs to be black and white unfortunately..


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## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

Hula Hoop said:


> Oh, he will come back. He is remakably gifted genetically,
> even among his fellow riders he is a standout.
> Don't kid yourself, as much as we may despise cheats,
> he is the real deal, with or without drugs.




Eh, I think we will have to see. A lot of people thought Ricco was quite a standout as well. I remember watching the 2008 TDF and seeing him blow the Pyrenees up. Everyone was sure he would be a GT god by 2009. I can't stand Ricco, but I remember thinking that he would look better than he does now when he came back. 

Ras might be the best climber of his generation; better than Contador. His return wasn't too spectacular either. On the other hand, he is older than Alberto. 

Anyway, I'm not sure what he will look like after a year off, especially if he actually comes back clean. He has top tier talent indeed, but I think he may be just a little teensie bit overrated. He has been a consistent winner, but his victories haven't always been solid. 
2007 TDF would have been lost to Ras and finished something like 30 seconds over Evans and Leipheimer.
2008 Vuelta finished tied (in real time) to a Leipheimer that wasn't trying to win the race.
2010 TDF may have lost to Andy without chaingate. 
His most solid GT wins were -08 Giro less than 2 minutes ahead of Ricco and -09 TDF 5 minutes ahead of an almost 40 Lance Armstrong that had been retired for years and had a couple of ugly days in the mountains.

I KNOW that the winner is the winner and that he won all of the races I just listed. I'm not trying to say that he didn't. I know he crossed the line in the end with the shortest elapsed time (sort of). I am just saying that I never thought that he was going to win the TDF 8 times. I'm not convinced he would have won 5. He might come back from a year off and not be in contention.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

one year is BS, he got busted
don't buy the special privs for superstars
if I was a 2 year banned domestique I'd sue the UCI for a years lost wages


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## CHL (Jun 24, 2005)

kbwh said:


> Everybody claim they are clean when busted.
> 
> But what if it was only the meat and there is a reasonable explanation to the plasticisers too? I mean: The rules are the rules, but are they right?


Who knows anymore. Although, I really don't like the media yapping about the plasticizer test when WADA hasn't even certified it for actual use. It's unfair to condemn a man based on a test, whose validity has not been completely established for Anti Doping controls.

What's sad these days is the actual outcome. Each time someone has denied doping, he/she has later recanted their prior protestations and admitted their guilt. Let's see: Ricco, Basso, Piepoli, Duenas, Landis


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## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

atpjunkie said:


> one year is BS, he got busted
> don't buy the special privs for superstars
> if I was a 2 year banned domestique I'd sue the UCI for a years lost wages



Agreed. I was a big Zirbel fan. I think he had a pretty good argument that he really did ingest something minor by accident, but CAREER OVER right in the middle of his big break. At least he handled it with class, argued that it was a tainted supplement and accident, but acknowledged that the rules say that if it is in your system you are out for two years and he quietly retired.


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