"It is a food contamination case of which I am the victim," said three time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador today at a press conference in Spain.
The Spanish super star rider tested positive for trace amounts of clenbuterol, a banned substance that aids in weight loss and muscle building, over two months ago just before the mountain stages of this year's Tour de France.
According to CNN.com:
"Contador was provisionally suspended from competitive cycling by the sport's governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), on Thursday following the results of the test.
The Spanish rider, a three-time winner of cycling's showpiece event, had traces of the banned substance clenbuterol in a test sample he gave on July 21 -- which was a rest day."
At today's news conference, see below, Contador categorically rejected that he used clenbuterol and blamed the positive drug test on tainted and contaminated meat.
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) released a statement today that said:
"The UCI continues working with the scientific support of WADA to analyze all the elements that are relevant to the case.
In order to protect the integrity of the proceedings and in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code, the UCI will refrain from making any further comments until the management of this adverse analytical finding has been completed."
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