Contador: "I practiced clean cycling"

By Antonio J. Salmerón

In an open letter to cycling fans, Alberto Contador has refuted the recent allegations linking him to Spanish Dr Fuentes. The young talent insisted on remembering that two years ago, when he was participating in the Vuelta a Asturias, "you helped me to overcome a very hard experience, which put my personal and professional life in danger, and more recently, I shared with you my triumphs obtained in 2005."

Contador wrote that he was thankful for the attention that the cycling fans showed him, "and for all that, and because you encouraged me with your shouts, or with my name printed on the roads, I feel in the obligation of showing you how I feel. At the moment, I'm sad, disappointed, powerless." But Contador added that, "Life has shown me that experiences, that at first sight seem harmful and unpleasant to us, can always result in highly positive lessons for us.

"I am convinced that my future professional and personal life will be marked by what happened these days, but I will continue working, possibly with even more devotion - if that's possible - to make you experience this beautiful sport and to hear you say once again that you believe in it and in me. So, to all those youngsters who begin in cycling, I want you to share something with me: YOU MAKE OF CYCLING A SPORT ADMIRED BY ALL. And because I believe in a clean sport, AS I HAVE PRACTICED IT, we will collect the result of our efforts in a few years."