Alberto Contador Provisionally Suspended By The UCI

iSporter and Tour de France fan Alekh Agrawal shares his view on the Alberto Contador doping controversy.

albertodoping

Friday was yet another sad day for cycling and its fans as Tour de France winner Alberto Contador was provisionally suspended by the International Cycling Union (UCI) after testing positive for banned anabolic agent clenbuterol during this year's race. The contentious sample was taken on the second rest day at Pau with the B test finding 50 picograms of the banned substance (which incidentally is 400 times below the minimum detectable threshold set by World Anti Doping Agency).

A devastated and near-tearful Contador held a press conference yesterday near his hometown of Pinto where he staunchly refused taking any performance enhancing substance and blamed the present scenario because of a possible case of food contamination. "It's a case of food poisoning, in which I am the victim," Contador said, "Whether people believe me or not, I know I can hold my head high and I'm not going to hide."

His stature in the cycling world can be gauged by the fact that he left the press conference to a wave of applause. Though the three times Tour winner admitted that with the succession of ongoing scandals in cycling it was "almost the norm" for people to doubt the sport.

Now the web has already been buzzing with conspiracy theorists devoting lots of digital “ones and zeroes” to the issue; some even using their literary talents to coining innovative names for the Spaniard, such as “Albuterol Clentador”. But sifting through all the mist, this case is really not all that simple. I’ll try to bring out the facts and bring transperency to the best of my abilities so that readers can make their own (possibly fair) judgements.

But before that a little detail about the substance in question (OK am no doc so this comes from wikipedia, just saving you the effort to to wiki it). Clenbuterol is a bronchodilator similar to the asthma drug salbutamol, but its effects are more potent and longer-lasting. It causes an increase in aerobic capacity, central nervous system stimulation, and an increase in blood pressure and oxygen transportation and is commonly used for smooth muscle relaxant properties. When prescribed, it is usually used in dosages anywhere from 20-60 micrograms a day (a fact to be noted). Clenbuterol has been around in cycling since atleast 1997 when the triple Tour de France points winner Djamolidin Abduzhaparov tested positive for it and was banned.

Back to the issue then. The first contentious matter is the amount of clenbuterol that was detected, which at 0.00000000005 grams per millilitre is not quite what would stand out as a BIG-black-blob in a lab report. Infact the Cologne lab where it was discovered, is only one of four in the world capable of carrying out just minute analysis (the machine incidentally is from the US, bought through funds provided by - who else - Lance Armstrong, little food for all you gossip mongers out there). Considering the minuscule amounts involved, there already are questions as to the veracity of the test.

Secondly, considering that the sample was taken on the rest day, it begs the question that why would anyone (especially a rider as experienced and strong as Contador) risk everything taking a drug that has next to no performance-related benefits on a day he wasn't even turning a pedal? It's not even being stupid. Further the trace discovered in his urine is minimal whereas the quantities needed to have an effect on performance are quite large (as can be understood from the recommended dosage stipulations). So, the argument will go, if he were taking it to go faster, it would show up more strongly in drug tests that are taken regularly during the race.

The cycling world’s reaction to the news has been mixed. American Greg LeMond, summed it up quite well when he said, "I don't think this is a black-and-white drugs test, this is like someone going positive for marijuana. I don't think there's a benefit to it but if it's on the list, it's on the list." Contador’s arch rival and this year’s Tour runner up Andy Schleck tweeted yesterday, “What a crazy day in cycling with the news about Contador I only heard about it in the press I hope he is innocent....and i think he deserves the right to defend himself now”.

For now Contador's case will go before the UCI and the Spanish Cycling Federation who will have to decide whether the tiny amount is enough to merit a positive test. The director general of WADA, David Howman did not rule out an eventual sanction when he said "The issue is the lab has detected this. There is no such thing as a limit where you don't have to prosecute cases. This is not a substance that has a threshold."

Meanwhile fans like me and a million others can only hope that this is a false alarm, and a great competitor like Contador does not have to join the ranks of disgraced cyclists like Floyd Landis. I have a feeling that the Spaniard will eventually retain his title, however a suspension may not be avoidable, in which case he would land in the company of the likes of Armstrong, Pantani & Ullrich, who have never been convicted, yet (sadly) always remain in the circle of doubt.

All in all as I said at the beginning, it’s another sad day for the world of cycling and gives opportunity to people who know nothing about the sport - the pain, the incessant hours of training and the altruist nature of competition - to speak ill of it. All might then end well for Contador but may not be so for the sport.

Lt. Cmdr Alekh Agrawal serves the Indian Navy and is an avid Tour de France follower. His loyalties lie with the legendary Lance Armstrong and his Team Radio Shack