Two-year ban for cyclist Alberto Contador

He is one of only five men with titles in three Tour de France races and is widely thought of as one of the best cyclists of his generation.

But Alberto Contador was on Monday given a two-year ban and stripped of his 2010 winning title by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for failing a drugs test. Contador also loses titles he has claimed in 2011, including the Giro d’Italia.

Contador, who won the Tour de France in 2007, 2009 and 2010, tested positive for the banned drug clenbuterol, which is used illegally by athletes to build muscle.

He has previously said that he tested positive for a tiny amount of clenbuterol after earing a contaminated steak that had been brought in from Spain.

His argument was accepted by the Spanish Cycling Federation, but not by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) or the International Cycling Union (UCI).

The Spaniard has 30 days to appeal to the Swiss federal court, and is due to hold a news conference later this week.

There are no winners when it comes to the issue of doping. UCI President Pat McQuaid

The two-year ban – minus the five month period of provisional suspension served in 2010-2011 – means that Contador will not be able to compete until after August 5 and will miss this year’s Tour de France and the London Olympic Games.

The UCI campaigned with Wada against the Spanish Cycling Federation’s decision to clear the 29-year-old. But UCI President Pat McQuaid said it was a “sad day” for cycling.

“Some may think of it as a victory, but that is not at all the case. There are no winners when it comes to the issue of doping: every case, irrespective of its characteristics, is always a case too many,” he added.

Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) President Juan Carlos Castano said of the CAS decision: “We are obliged to comply with it but we don’t agree with it.

“It’s very bad news for Spanish sport. For us this journey has ended.”

‘No reason to be happy’

Contador’s first place title will now be handed to Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck, with Russian Denis Menchov finishing second and Bradley Wiggins becoming the first Briton to climb on to the podium.

But Schleck said there is “no reason to be happy now”.

“First of all I feel sad for Alberto. I always believed in his innocence. This is just a very sad day for cycling,” he said in a statement.

“I battled with Contador in that race and I lost. My goal is to win the Tour de France in a sporting way, being the best of all competitors, not in court. If I succeed this year, I will consider it as my first Tour victory.”

Operation Puerto

An investigation into a doping network centred around the Spanish sports doctor Eufemiano Fuentes came to a head last November, when seven people were told they would stand trial and face up to two years in prison.

Operation Puerto has implicated more than 50 cyclists since it began in May 2006, including Contador as well as Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich and Alejandro Valverde.

Contador’s team, Astana-Wurth, was forced to withdraw from the 2006 Tour de France before it began, because of the doping allegations, but Contador was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing at the time.