Alberto Contador says cycling's clean-up process must end

News & Results

01/21/2013| 0 comments
by AP and Roadcycling.com
Alberto Contador Fotoreporter Sirotti

Alberto Contador says cycling's clean-up process must end

Alberto Contador, a two-time winner of the Tour de France who was stripped of a third title for using a banned substance, says cycling needs to take something positive from the Lance Armstrong scandal.

Contador spoke to reporters on Sunday on the eve of the Tour de San Luis in Argentina.

The Spaniard said Armstrong's admission that he took performance-enhancing drugs to win his seven Tour de France titles was "hard on the image of cycling," but he said he wanted to "find the good in it."

"It is true that his (Armstrong's) confession was detrimental to the sport, but I see that there are good things coming from this."

"Hopefully we can shut the door once and for all on this chapter and concentrate on the future. We must forget the past decade and look ahead," Contador told Spanish newspaper Marca.com.

Contador won the Tour de France in 2007 and 2009 but was stripped of his 2010 title for testing positive for the banned substance clenbuterol.

"I know they've spoken a lot about the interview, but what he said surprised nobody in the least," the Spaniard said.

Armstrong acknowledged in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he used banned substances in winning his seven Tour de France titles.

Armstrong was stripped of the titles and has been banned for life from cycling and from competing in athletic events sanctioned by WADA or the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Some analysts view Contador's statement as an attempt to put the lid on cycling's worst case of organized doping - a case which is said to implicate Contador's boss on Team Saxo-Tinkoff, Bjarne Riis and a case which is presently threatening to reveal the masterminds behind the organized doping in cycling.

Your comments
Your comments
sign up or login to post a comment