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Schleck: Sad day for cycling

02/06/2012 08:24:04 PM

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Luxembourg cyclist Andy Schleck said he has 'no reason' to be pleased despite being awarded the 2010 Tour de France title.

Schleck was announced as the retrospective winner after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and cycling's world governing body, UCI, banned Alberto Contador from cycling for two years and stripped him of his 2010 title.

Contador's suspension was the result of positive tests for the banned substance clenbuterol, which the Spaniard claimed was due to eating contaminated meat.

Schleck took no pleasure in the outcome, however, and expressed his sadness for Contador after the decision, which will see him miss the 2012 Tour de France.

"There is no reason to be happy now," Schleck said after the announcement.

"First of all I feel sad for Alberto. I always believed in his innocence. This is just a very sad day for cycling."

"The only positive news is that there is a verdict after 566 days of uncertainty. We can finally move on. I trust that the CAS judges took all things into consideration after reading a 4,000-page file."

"If now I am declared overall winner of the 2010 Tour de France it will not make me happy. 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."

Contador's 2011 Giro d'Italia win was also stripped, with Michele Scarponi to inherit the win, but he also spoke of his sympathy for the banned rider.

"Together with my team, Lampre-ISD, I acknowledge the decision by the CAS in the Contador case," Scarponi said.

"I'm very sorry for Alberto. This decision doesn't change the value of the results I obtained and my upcoming goals."

President of the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC), Juan Carlos Castano, also disapproved of the decision.

"It is very sad and disagreeable news for Spanish cycling in particular and for sports in our country generally," Castano said.

RFEC found Contador not guilty of the charge but after an appeal from WADA and the UCI, the case was heard again.

 
Photograph Copyright : Getty Images

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