Bjarne Riis’ worries continues after UCI stood firm on Alberto Contador’s World Tour points
UCI has made it clear, that it will stay firm on its rule related to the cyclists returning from suspension.
The issue was raised by Bjarne Riis of Team Saxo Bank who challenged the regulation after realising that the most expensive cyclist in his team will not be contributing any points even after his return to professional cycling.
UCI suggests that any points earned by the cyclist returning to the sport after serving a doping ban will not count towards the team’s total for a period of two years.
“That is the rule, and it will be respected”, UCI Spokesman Enrico Carpani told the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
He continued, “Personally, Alberto Contador wins good points. He may even win the WorldTour”.
However, “his points will not be included in the in the accounts”, after the end of the season.
“As we see it, the rule is in order. Therefore we won't look at it again now, just because some Danish lawyers believe that we should do it, or because someone thinks that we will lose a case before the CAS”.
“There were also many who thought that we would lose the Contador case at CAS, but we won.”
Contador was accused of using clenbuterol during the 2010 version of the Tour de France and was banned from the sport.
The final decision on his case was made in February 2012 and the judges were convinced that the cyclist used clenbuterol to enhance his performance during the race.
He was given a two-year ban and was also stripped off from all the victories since the 2010 race of the French race.
The Spaniard is marking his return to the professional cycling on August 5th, 2012 at the Eneco Tour.
Contador will miss all the major cycling events of the year including the Tour de France, the Giro d’ Italia and the 2012 Olympic Games.
The only big race of the season he is eligible to ride is the Vuelta a Espana 2012 and the cyclist is training to seek his peak form ahead of the race.
Alberto will continue the remaining part of the season with Team Saxo Bank despite several offers that were made to him earlier this year.
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