Alberto Contador's hearings could be delayed by the Spanish Cycling Federation
The Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) has warned that its hearings against Alberto Contador could take over three months to reach a conclusion.
On Monday, 8 November, the International Cycling Union (UCI) requested that the RFEC set a date for the hearing after providing the body with extensive documentation on Contador's case.
The Spaniard tested positive for Clenbuterol, a prohibited substance, on the second rest day of this year's Tour de France.
RFEC president Juan Carlos Castano, who has previously said he hopes Contador will be cleared of the charges against him, told Spanish daily
AS that the large amount of material submitted by the UCI will result in a drawn-out process.
"There are many reports from various official bodies and even some private reports. Most of them are in English, so it is very likely that the competition committee will request an official translation."
According to Cyclingnews, Luis Sanz, a legal counsel at the RFEC, said that the hearings could take over three months to conclude, as there are no time restraints on how long the defence may take to present its evidence.
It is therefore likely that the process will extend far beyond the time-limit set by the UCI's regulations, which stipulate that hearings must be concluded one month after they are requested by the body.
UCI, WADA against the RFEC
The case is likely to cause another rift between the RFEC and the UCI, with the latter supported by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Earlier this year, the UCI and WADA appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after the Spanish federation refused to hold hearings against Alejandro Valverde for his involvement in the infamous doping case Operation Mountain Pass.
On Wednesday, 10 November, an unnamed official at the federation told Spanish daily
El Pais that there is no easy way out of the case for the RFEC.
"If the Spanish federation sanctions Contador, we will have trouble at home," the official said. "If he is acquitted, there will be a quarrel with the UCI and WADA, who will again remind us that here we are too sympathetic to doping and that we don’t want
to fight it. And these pressures are not the best guarantee of a truly fair trial."
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