Contador found guilty

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has banned Alberto Contador from cycling for 2 years for doping.

CAS issued its ruling in Lausanne on Monday, finding the Spanish cyclist guilty of doping. The three-time winner of the Tour de France was tested positive for clenbuterol on the second day of the 2010 tournament.

Contador has claimed the positive test was a result of eating a contaminated steak, produced by the Spanish meat industry. Clenbuterol is sometimes used by farmers to fatten their livestock. The drug is banned in Europe.

The 29-year-old rider was suspended but later exonerated by a Spanish cycling tribunal in February 2011. Even Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero - the Spanish prime minister at the time - spoke in defense of Contador, posting on Twitter that there was no reason to punish him.

The World Anti-Doping Agency and the cycling governing body, the International Cycling Union (UCI), saw things differently and appealed the case, which took 18 months to bring to an end.

Contador has continued racing and stands to lose all of his results if banned for more than a year, including his victory in the Giro d'Italia last season.

He is only the second Tour de France champion to be disqualified and stripped of victory for doping. The first was Floyd Landis, the American who lost his 2006 title after testing positive for testosterone.

Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, who finished second at the 2010 Tour, will now take the title.

rg/slk (Reuters, AP)