Alberto Contador has responded to the allegations apparently made by an unnamed member of the Astana team, to be published in Belgian magazine Humo. The source, which may be a rider or a member of team staff, claims that the Spaniard used Clenbuterol after the Critérium du Dauphiné, then extracted blood to be transfused before and during the Tour de France.
Contador went on to win the Tour de France, but subsequently tested positive for a tiny trace amount of Clenbuterol on the race’s second rest day. Since news of the positive test was announced, the rider has maintained that the substance must have entered his system via a contaminated piece of beef; he is sticking to that explanation.
In a statement released this evening, Contador’s legal team threatens to sue those who have published the allegations. Since news of the story leaked though, it has appeared in a huge number of publications.
The statement reads as follows:
“Alberto Contador announces legal actions against defamatory information
“The legal team of Alberto Contador will take legal actions against defamatory information published so far by various media and websites, due to their absolute lack of veracity; additionally, they will proceed in the same way with any defamatory information that will be published in the future.
“Alberto Contador radically denies the veracity of the information published by some media and reaffirms his innocence, as proved by all scientific reports provided to the UCI that were made available to the public, and as confirmed by his biological passport.
“Alberto Contador reiterates that the clenbuterol found in the analysis of the last Tour de France was solely caused by food contamination and in no case has resorted to an autologous or any other method of doping.
“Finally, the rider asks the sport authorities and especially the ICU, to provide a quick resolution of this case, as this is the best way to end the speculations and the publication of false and defamatory news about his person.”