Spanish Federation expects UCI to appeal Contador verdict.

/, Tour de France/Spanish Federation expects UCI to appeal Contador verdict.

Spanish Federation expects UCI to appeal Contador verdict.

Appeal? Si.

Will Contador be smiling in September?

The Spanish Cycling Protection Federation believes the UCI is not only in vehement disagreement with their decision to absolve Alberto Contador but ready to battle them in a Swiss court.

The federation’s legal adviser, Luis Sanz, told AS: “We are sure that the UCI is going to challenge Contador’s absolution.”

The most revealing quote from the folks who cleared Contador after his positive for clenbuterol was the following gem: “We will have to study the weak parts of the decision and Contador’s team will also have to revise their arguments. The whole dossier will have to be strengthened before it is presented.”

Twisted Spoke reads that statement as “Alberto’s case was weak but good enough for us here in Spain to let him off. We know we’ll have to make it stronger to win in the Court for Arbitration in Sport.”

What does that tell you about nationalism, favoritism, cronyism, bullshitism? The Spanish Federation and Contador’s lawyers are now working together. God knows, they’ve made several bizarre rulings lately. No doubt Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will be tweeting his support again when it’s time for CAS to deliver a verdict.

The fact is, the UCI is on a roll now, they’ve got their confidence and legal momentum back after CAS ruled against Franco Pellizotti. The biological passport withstood the big hit, no fuel rods were exposed and the containment vessel is intact.

Pat McQuaid’s boys are gearing up for the showdown with El Pistolero feeling pretty good about their dice roll. Yes, they’ll have to compromise on the radio ban but they think they can get the full Contador ban.

According to those familiar with CAS-Speed, a verdict is unlikely to come before September. Plenty of time to strengthen that case and for Alberto Contador to ride — and win — another Tour de France.

As the old cycling expression goes, “non-chapeau.”

By |2019-02-03T16:21:14-08:00March 15th, 2011|Alberto Contador, Tour de France|6 Comments

About the Author:

6 Comments

  1. RideLikeaGirl1 March 15, 2011 at 9:14 am - Reply

    Maybe an injury or crash will take Contador out of the grand tour running and this whole thing can be resolved through poetic justice.

    • TwistedSpoke March 15, 2011 at 9:26 am - Reply

      Poetic justice is often in short supply. I hate to wish crashes on anyone except Danilo di Luca but it sure would be nice to have CAS ruled BEFORE the TDF. Not going to happen, I guess. Matt

  2. Ettore March 16, 2011 at 12:17 pm - Reply

    I hate to play devil’s advocate here but keep in mind that Lance is also being praised by Congressman Kingston from Georgia. He said quote; " Armstrong, a cancer survivor, is an American sport hero" This is what he told the FDA. So don’t rush to judgment yet. Either men have been convicted in a court of law but in my opinion have been found guilty by the court of public opinion. I would hate to be in their shoes!

    • TwistedSpoke March 16, 2011 at 3:15 pm - Reply

      Ettore, who really knows if Contador is guilty or not? I sure don't. As for Armstrong, Im sure he's guilty AND he's an American hero. His case is unique because he's actually both, good and bad and everything in between. Matt

  3. Ettore March 17, 2011 at 9:06 am - Reply

    Matt
    You just proved the point I was making. You are part of the public opinion by making a statement that you are sure Armstrong is guilty. I never said Contador doped on purpose or Armstrong was guilty of doping during his cycling career, what I said was both men have been found GUILTY by the court of public opinion. As far as Lance is concerned you and I don't have any facts we only have the accusations Landis has made and what has been leaked to the press. My point is that we quickly come to judgment based on information printed in the press. We will have to wait for the results of the FDA investigation to know if Lance cheated all these years and if he did, shame on him and he should pay the price!

    • TwistedSpoke March 17, 2011 at 10:23 am - Reply

      Ettore, I'm just a cycling blogger with too many opinions and not enough facts and nobody pays me for either. I do the best I can and try to keep things entertaining. I make mistakes along the way but if I'm not excited by what I'm writing, then there's no Twisted Spoke and thousands will mourn my passing. Matt

Leave A Comment