Alberto Contador denies to Giro d’ Italia 2011 disqualification
Alberto Contador was stripped-off from all the victories since the Tour de France 2010 after CAS handed him a two year ban for doping at the French race.
As a result of his disqualification, Giro d’ Italia organisers declared the second place finisher Michele Scarponi as the ultimate winner of the race.
Vincenzo Nibali, John Gadret, Joaquim Rodriguez and Roman Kreuziger were promoted to the second, the third, the fourth and the fifth positions respectively.
However, Alberto insists that the 2011 Giro victory still belonged to him and no one can take it away.
He noted, "There are two things. There's what is written on a piece of paper and there is what you feel. I know that the 2011 Giro belongs to me, it's mine”.
“I won it by making great efforts. What counts is that I achieved the planned objective, it's a personal satisfaction”.
“Now, if they write in the books that I won the Giro once (2008) or twice, it's the same to me".
Contador was accused of using unfair means to enhance his performance during the 2010 version of the French Grand Tour.
Both UCI and WADA forwarded the case to CAS and the final decision on the matter was announced in February 2012.
The cyclist was banned from professional cycling for a total period of two years backdated to the date of the offence.
The ban prevents him from riding all the important cycling events of the season including the Tour de France, the London Olympics and the Giro d’ Italia.
The 29-year-old will mark his come back on August 5th and will be seen in action at the Eneco Tour.
Vuelta a Espana is the only Grand Tour race Alberto is allowed to ride in the 2012 season.
Contador noted that he will keep in touch with his competitor’s form by watching the race on the television.
It will be interesting to see if the Spaniard continues his previous form after his return to professional cycling.
Eneco Tour is scheduled from August 6-12 and Alberto’s fans all across the world are desperately waiting to see their favourite rider back on his bike.
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