A Great Man Honoured and A Great Man Shamed

       Firstly I would like to apologise for no post last night, technical problems on my end for most of yesterday.  But now lets get to the point.  This morning probably the greatest time trialist of all time Fabian Cancellara won his fourth time trial title at the Road World Championships.  He has now won the time trial title more than anyone else, the records will now state that he is the greatest of all time, for now.  But Fabian's moment of glory was ruined by the news that Alberto Contador, winner of the 2010 Tour de France, has said he has tested positive for a banned substance.  He said he had tested positive for clenbuterol during a rest on the Tour in July but added he was a victim of "food contamination".  He is holding a press conference later on Thursday.

       I would like to talk about Fabian Cancellara first.  Fabian is 29 and turned pro in 2001, he came to the for front when high signed for Team CSC, now Team Saxo-Bank in 2006.  He is now four time time trial world champion in 06,07,09 and 10, he is also the current time trial Olympic Champion, which actually means something in this sport.  Fabian has also won 7 stages of the Tour de France and has worn the yellow jersey on 20 occasions.
     
       Fabian is not just a brilliant time trialist he is a brilliant team player and he is wonderful person outside of the sport as well.  On many occasions you will see him on the front of the peleton doing the hard work for his squad and his team leader.  Outside of the sport Fabian has done lots of charity work in his native Switzerland, including many cycling programs.  Fabian is one the all time greats in his discipline but he moment in the limelight has been tarnished.

      Alberto Contador is currently the poster boy of cycling and this is the first time any allegation against him has actually been true.  Cycling's governing body, UCI, confirmed that Contador had been provisionally suspended.  Cycling has struggled with doping allegations for years and a host of high-profile offenders have been caught including US cyclist Floyd Landis who was stripped of his 2006 Tour title for a positive drugs test.

      In the statement it said the rider was first made aware of the test by the UCI on 24 August. He will hold a conference soon "to give his version of what happened" direct to the public.  The UCI have also released its own statement confirming that the rider had been "formally and provisionally suspended as is prescribed by the World Anti-Doping Code" after both his A and B urine samples tested positive in a laboratory in Cologne, Germany.

      Clenbuterol is a stimulant that increases breathing capacity and boosts the flow of oxygen in the bloodstream, is sometimes prescribed to treat asthma but is also often used in attempts to reduce body fat.  Contador claims his food was contaminated but this sort of plee has been tried before but this could be a very dark day for the world of cycling.