Alberto Contador came out swinging against allegations he was involved in Operacion Puerto today, in a statement he made to the press while standing in front of Spain’s Sports Council offices this morning, flanked by Discovery Channel Team boss Johann Bruyneel and Spanish Sports Minister Jaime Lissavetzky. As reported by the Associated Press (via the International Herald Tribune):
“I’ve never committed a doping offense. I’ve never been involved in any act of doping,” Contador said. “My promise against doping is absolute.”
In a public statement read to the media, Contador said he intends to do all he can to aid investigators in the fight against doping.
“I am available to all competent authorities in the matter of doping, and will answer any questions, including providing my DNA,” he said.
Flanked by Discovery Channel Team boss Johann Bruyneel and Spanish Sports Minister Jaime Lissavetzky, Contador said what should have been a celebration after his Tour victory had turned sour because of the constant accusations and news coverage, even forcing him to have police protection.
“I have passed all controls … surprise and scheduled, in my house and at competitions, during racing and when not, of blood and urine,” Contador said.
“I find it impossible to understand the personal attacks against me, putting in doubt my honor as a sportsman, from people who don’t know me. … We have to make an effort to move forward in believing in cycling and in me.”
German anti-doping activist Werner Franke recently gave documents to the World Anti-Doping Agency which he claims show Contador was involved with Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes, the doctor at the heart of the Operacion Puerto investigation. Franke bases his statements on the appearance of the intials “AC” in the documents, however, he has not publicly pointed to anywhere where Contador’s name is actually spelled out.
One interesting thing to note, is given the number of riders in the pro peloton (including lower-echelon riders of, say, Joe Papp’s “caliber”), it’s quite likely that there could be several riders with the initials AC. One other mistake Franke may be making — depending on how Fuentes made his notations — is that while we know another rider, Oscar Pereiro, by a certain name, his full name is Oscar Pereiro Sio. What’s Contador’s full name? And when he, or another Spaniard would write his initials, would his initials be AC or ACSomethingorother?
Here’s why I ask: A good friend of mine in high school was from Spain. And like Pereiro, he had two last names. Whenever he wrote his initials, he wrote three, reflecting his first and both last names. Did Fuentes do the same for the Spanish riders he treated? Or did he use only two? Because if he used all three, then Contador is really getting a bum rap here.
For all we know, the rider “AC” might be named Allan Collins, Anders Christensen, Anthony Curry, or Alvin Chipmunk. But enough of that digression. Back to Contador.
Contador continues to maintain his innocence, and in his statement offered to provide DNA evidence to back up his claim. He also said he will take legal action against anyone making defamatory statements about him in the future, and that he will donate any judgments he wins to the fight against doping in sports.
Reuters reports (via the Guardian):
“I won the race cleanly and greatly enjoyed it. My objective is to win more races and to help make cycling an attractive sport admired by everyone,” he said.“My commitment against doping is absolute and I have always said I would work to collaborate in the cause. I put myself at the disposition of all the competent authorities in the fight against doping to do whatever tests they want on me, including a DNA test.“I don’t know what more I can do to be considered a just winner of the Tour, but if the attacks continue to be made against me, my family, my team, sponsors, or colleagues I will resort to legal action without hesitation.”
Contador also said:
“I have never committed an act of doping, and have never participated in an act of doping,” he said at the offices of Spain’s government-run Sports Council (CSD) in Madrid.“From my position as winner of the 2007 Tour de France, the most important race in the world, that any cyclist would want to win, a race won with honesty and effort, I ask all of you to also make an effort to continue believing in cycling and me.”
As Cadel Evans reminded us all earlier this week, unless someone can offer clear and convincing proof to the contrary, Contador deserves the presumption of innocence. Let’s hope that the media and the rest of us are able to see things from Evans’ perspective.
In context of the OP documents, A.C. is Contador. The only other rider with initials, A. C. in those documents would be Angel Cassero but the context doesn’t fit because he was not on Liberty Seguros in 2005. On pages 3 and 31, a general listing of the 2005 Liberty Seguros general classification team occurs. At that time, only one A.C. (Contador)was on that team, so it is likely Contador is AC. However, the regiment of doping attributed to him is a reference to JJ (Jascke) and includes the notation “nothing or same as JJ”.
The Fuentes “clients” are listed in documents 9 to 29? and A.C. is not on that list. Documents 3 and 31 might be reports from Saiz to Fuentes or Fuentes’ understanding from who knows where of the doping regiment of that team, which was important to Fuentes, who was designing a particular protocol for his clients, including some heavy hitters on that team (Nozal, Heras, Jaske), allegedly.
So, if non analytical “positives” have reached the level of someone’s understanding, including “nothing” of your “regiment” as a bit player so that the “star’s” more involved protocol can be better developed, then all of cycling is doomed by this or at least every mentioned person in that document.
Contador offered his DNA that was once the gold standard demanded of the named athletes. He was “cleared” by the Spanish State prosecution, the Spanish Federation and the UCI. Now nothing less than a confession or his banishment from the sport will do. Let’s hope some French policeman isn’t in charge of any confession. See Cedric Vasseur about that..
Bill,
Thanks for the research, most appreciated. If AC isn’t on Fuentes’ list of clients, then what are those initials doing in anything related to Liberty Seguros? Was Fuentes drawing up a master plan and whatever riders felt like it could take advantage? Has Fuentes ever said anything about that?
– Rant
I’d like to get a better look at Document 3, if anyone has any links. Some in the Press indicate it is one of the client list summaries and that Contador appears on the list. If Contador “appears” there under initials A.C. , that very well might be Casero. He was a Fuentes client (allegedly), won the Vuelta in 2001 and is referenced numerious times in the documents but not by initials AC. Others “cleared” are included in Document 3, Pauhlino, Louis Leone Sanchez, Alan Davis.
Fuentes sets forth specific protocols in documents 8 to 29 for the Liberty Seguros team EXCEPT there are no protocols for Pauhlino, Sanchez and Contador (who were cleared….. is that why?) While Davis was “cleared”, he has a specific protocol laid out in document 23.
Document #31 is the Liberty “master list”, containing handwritten notations of the regiment on the back. I don’t know where that information came to Fuentes (I suspect from Saiz)because those regiments don’t match up to Fuentes protocols in other documents. If you assume “AC” took “nothing” as indicated, case closed. If you assume he did the same as JJ, then he was on testosterone, EPO, female hormones and an extraction (blood doping) protocol. Then, there should be some blood bags somewhere, resolved by the DNA sample offer. For conspiracy theorists who say the blood has dissappeared, there were bigger fish to fry all this time and their blood hasn’t disappeared so there is no reason to think if contador gave blood that it wouldn’t be somewhere still.
Since we are asking speculative questions here – What about the Hamburg race that “uninvited” Contador on the grounds that he is a “suspect” in the “OP” report. Is it legal for race organizers to do such a thing? Since their decision is based on media driven “speculation”? What is to stop any organizer from simply grabbing his 15 minutes of fame by merely feeling free to uninvite some one who is being picked to pieces in the news?
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I am left, almost speechless that Discovery is ending at the end of this year. The “media” is mainly saying that this is due to not being able to find interested backers due to the maelstrom of “doping related stories” flying about in the cycling world”¦
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While in various publicized statements, I read this: “Tailwind spokesman PJ Rabice told VeloNews Friday morning that the decision was not based on “a failure to find a new sponsor.” Rabice did not elaborate, but said “the company would offer further information during a conference call later in the day.”
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Bruyneel confirmed Friday that he plans to leave cycling entirely at the end of the year. “I’ve achieved everything that I could in the sport,” the 43-year-old Bruyneel told AFP in Madrid. “I’ve always said that I wanted to stop on top and I think it’s the right time.”
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Right — Bruyneel decides to “retire” at the top of his game”¦and Discovery is out of the pro-racing picture — but it is not because they couldn’t find any backers? Anybody else feels like the chains are being yanked?
It’s a bit strange the whole affair. Who are the football players seen by Mancebo in Fuentes’s office ? Fuentes confirmed that at an interview to Le Monde. Two days later he retracter afer death threats!
I think the truth was mudded there is a while. At the begining they were speaking from around 200 blood bags which seems to be now just less than 100!
Since it’s political, it would be difficult to have certitude.
For Contador, he would have to prove his results next year on a bike and in an another team. That could be difficult.
Bill — check out http://www.dailypelotonforums.com/main/index.php?showtopic=5630. Leafcake’s got links to most of the OP documents.
Jean,
I don’t think that Contador will have any problem proving himself next year. Of course he will be a marked man but i don’t think he will have any problem picking a top team once this whole puerto mess is cleared up. 2nd place finisher from last year, Oscar Pereiro did a good job of proving himself this year (10th i think) and finished probably where he would have finished had it not been for the ‘cadeau’ of the one stage.
Morgan, I think that maybe Mr LA, after being dogged his whole career, and in his retirement by drug allegations may have thrown in the towel with this new doping scenario and cried ‘no mas’.
Cam,
Leafcake’s docs are the same as I’ve seen but thanks for the link. His observations are pretty interesting!
At the moment, I can’t make up my mind about that Luc. Armstrong if that is who you mean by Mr LA – sorry man – I’m so far out of the loop I don’t know this stuff anymore, Does not strike me as some one who psychologically would be “made” to give up…not if I look at the last 10 years of what I know of him…he may have moments of self doubt, but he also has an immense sense of who he feels himself to be…I could go off wildly making assumptions, but the fact is, I don’t have any info that is credible – lots of “news” and inferences – but no hard facts.
Hope you had a good ride – hope the waters did not reach you in the NE.
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I admit to really hoping that this Contador issue is just another “razzel-dazzle” media piece…from what I saw in his riding in the mountains – he was great – I would love to see him do it some more and see Rasmussen and him go at it again – man that was beautiful…and I would love to see Landis back again. What a bloody mess.
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I wish I could add something concrete – but all I have at the moment is this sense of numbness. But I still will love forever the sound of the freewheel clicking, the air getting louder as I would go faster, the sense of being one with the bike on a decent and yes, even that mind obliterating pain…riding bikes is a love that not even such mess can destroy – no matter how dramatically the media is trying to make it so.
If the only reference in the Franke docs is that “AC” got “nothing or same as JJ” that is pretty thin and ambiguous evidence to base any action against Contador. It seems possible and maybe even probable that the “AC” does refer to Contador, but does not really say he doped. It could even be speculation on Fuentes part as to what “AC” was already doing: either not doping or doing the same as “JJ”. Or it could be speculation as to what “AC” might be willing to do. But the key is that word “nothing”: how can any action be taken against Contador based on a document that at face value, indicates equal probability of guilt or innocence? Unless Franke has other docs we don’t know about.
This might warrant further investigation, at least enough to see where the Spanish authorities properly cleared Contador or if there is other evidence to support a doping charge. But I am thinking the time has come to put OP to rest.
I’m really getting sick of this “Oh it could be” ” Oh it might be” crap. show me some concrete evidence, show me a picture with the needle in the guys arm, just show me something.