Astana rider testifies against Contador
An anonymous former teammate of Alberto Contador from Team Astana has confidentially approached Belgian magazine Humo to discuss the Spanish triple-Tour de France winner’s doping practices that cause the irregular test results which have earned Contador
a provisional ban from competition.
“In the Dauphiné Libéré, Contador was still a little overweight. Ordinary people do not see that, but there was still a pound or two to shed. Clenbuterol is used to get rid of the last kilos while, at the same time, to ensure that you do not lose muscle
mass – or, in the best case, even gain a little extra muscle mass.”
It was announced last Thursday that Contador had tested positive for banned substance clenbuterol, but it was shown that the amounts recorded in his blood were so minimal that it would have been impossible for them to be manually administered and they would
not have affected his performance at all.
“You have to use it in combination with T3 [Triiodothyronine],” said the anonymous informant. “This is a thyroid hormone that helps in the digestion of fats. Then you have more rapid effect with a smaller dose of clen. And the smaller the dose, the smaller
the chance that you get caught.”
The positive test was recorded on the second rest day of the Tour de France and it baffled most commentators until it was confirmed in the following days that he had also tested positive for plasticisers the day before the clenbuterol test. Plasticisers
are the chemicals found in blood bags, a clear indication that Contador had undergone a blood transfusion.
“In the period between the Dauphiné and the Tour, Contador drained off blood – small bags, so that the blood values are not to disrupt the biological passport,” explained the informant. “The removal happened at a time when there was a trace of clenbuterol
in his blood. And that trace was in the blood in the bag, until it was later put back into his body.”
Contador’s defense is based on two points. The first is that the trace amounts of clenbuterol in his blood had come from tainted meat, the second is that the test which showed plasticisers has not been validated by the UCI and therefore cannot be trusted.
These claims have gained support from fans and riders, but are considered dubious by scientists and doping experts.
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