Contador and clenbuterol

The Court for Arbitration of Sport has set November 21-24 for the UCI and WADA’s appeal of the Spanish cycling federation’s lack of punishment for Alberto Contador after he tested positive for clenbuterol at the 2010 Tour de France.

As the date draws nigh, the sports world continues to grapple with the issue of clenbuterol. Several notable recent cases suggest that prosecuting athletes for the substance – used illicitly to keep athletes lean – has its own unique problems. Most recently, dozens of young male soccer players at the Under 17 World Cup in Mexico tested positive for the drug. In June, five members of the Mexican men’s national soccer team had traces of clenbuterol in their samples at the Gold Cup. In both cases, the players weren’t suspended, as the substance was traced to contaminated beef or pork. In cycling, Radioshack’s Chinese rider Fuyu Li tested positive, something he attributes to tainted meat, yet he’s serving a two-year ban.

In both Mexico and China, clenbuterol is sometimes used commercially to make meat leaner just before slaughter. In fact, WorldTour racers at this month’s Tour of Beijing eschewed local meat to avoid contamination. Contador claims that he ingested the drug in Spanish beef brought into France during le grand boucle, something that accounts for the trace levels of clenbuterol in his samples. If Contador’s defense holds up, it would be the first Europe-based clenbuterol doping case attributed to contaminated food.

Last month WADA released its 2012 Prohibited List which included any traces of clenbuterol. Some believed that WADA would adopt a threshold limit to acknowledge that athletes may accidentally ingest the substance. With a history of uneven bans issued by national cycling federations, other sports federations and WADA, it’s clear that the issue of clenbuterol positives will continue to be a slippery one. Contador’s excuse, seemingly disingenuous over a year ago, appears more feasible as his day in court looms large.