Sending Alberto Contador to the Tour of Beijing makes “no sense”, Bjarne Riis
Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank boss Bjarne Riis has decided not to send his star rider Alberto Contador to the Tour of Beijing 2012.
The reason behind Riis’ decision to hold Contador back is mainly because of the UCI law which suggests that the UCI points earned by any cyclist returning from a doping ban will not count towards the team for a period of two years.
"It makes no sense that Alberto Contador promote their race, if we do not get anything back,” Riis explained to Sporken.dk.
“He will be a huge name over there, and he cannot even score some points. It makes no sense. And why should he go there? I cannot see why".
The Spaniard marked his return to professional cycling at the Eneco Tour after serving a two-year ban and secured the fourth overall position at the event.
He was accused of using clenbuterol at the Tour de France 2010 and UCI forwarded the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The cyclist denied the allegations and briefed that the substance entered his system through contaminated beef, he consumed before the race.
Clenbuterol is a performance enhancing drug banned by UCI which cost him all the victories since the 2010 edition of the French Grand Tour and a two year suspension from professional cycling.
The 29-year-old occupied the fourth overall position at the Eneco Tour which was his first race after returning to the sport.
The ban cost him all the major cycling events of the season including the Olympic Games and two Grand Tours and the only race he was entitled to ride was the Vuelta a Espana 2012.
Alberto rode brilliantly throughout the three-week race where he managed to bag a stage win and an overall victory at the event.
He has only raced two events in the current season and has already jumped up to the tenth overall position after the UCI World Tour Individual rankings.
Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank Cyclist currently holds 280 UCI points in his back pocket after his superb performance at the Eneco Tour and the Spanish Grand Tour.
Riis has already challenged the UCI decision in order to have Contador’s points calculated towards the team’s tally but UCI has shown no flexibility.
"I think we have a good case, and we have our right to the point, as Alberto Contador entering. Everything else is meaningless," he cited.
Bjarne is now planning to take the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the team’s fate now depends on the jury.
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