Rules on doping need to be rethought says Spaniard
Alberto Contador awaits the start of the Volta ao Algarve. (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) has suggested that the regulations on doping need to be revised in order to bring them into line with recent advances in testing technology. Speaking to AS following the Spanish federation’s judgment that his one-year ban for doping should be overturned, Contador described the decision as “a great step forwards for our sport”.
Contador was responding to a question about comments made by Tom Boonen that suggested that it had been an injustice that the Spaniard’s ban had not been confirmed. “I don’t know if he said that, but what he should do is look at this from another perspective: the decision to absolve me is a great step forwards for our sport. I have managed to prevent an injustice being committed, and institutions ought to take this as a starting point to prevent other injustices taking place. My case will turn out to be very important for cycling.”
Asked to clarify his point, Contador added: “There needs to be a change to the anti-doping norms. Technology has advanced considerably, but the rules haven’t advanced with it. The rules ought to complement the technology, and I think that they have to revise some of them in the short term.”
Pressed for his opinion on widespread criticism of his absolution and particularly suggestions that he had received favourable treatment from his own federation, Contador replied: “It’s in no way a nationalist or patriotic resolution simply because I’ve been absolved by the competitions committee of the Spanish federation. This has been a juridical and scientific process and on the basis of the data that is available on the internet they have exonerated me.”
Contador said he was not concerning himself too much with the prospect that the UCI and WADA might decide to appeal the verdict.
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Peter Cossins has written about professional cycling since 1993 and is a contributing editor to Procycling. He is the author of The Monuments: The Grit and the Glory of Cycling's Greatest One-Day Races (Bloomsbury, March 2014) and has translated Christophe Bassons' autobiography, A Clean Break (Bloomsbury, July 2014).
