2010 Tour de France champ Alberto Contador has been suspended from cycling for one year and stripped of his 2010 Tour de France victory for doping.  The only other Tour winner to be stripped of his title was Floyd Landis in 2006.

For some reason I never liked Contador. Maybe it was the way he treated Lance when they were teammates. Maybe it was the way he attacked the yellow jersey (Andy Schleck) when he had a technical malfunction and then denied attacking. He can ride, but I don’t like him.

Contador denies any wrongdoing and says he unknowingly ingested the clenbuterol from beef – right… – brought from Spain to France during the second rest day of the Tour.

Clenbuterol can have short-term stimulant effects, including increasing aerobic capacity, blood pressure and alertness and is therefore a banned substance.

Contador has threatened in the past to quit the sport if he was suspended, we’ll see if he keeps his word.

My only questions is why only 1 year? I thought the standard sanction was a 2-year ban? What is special about Contador that warrants him only getting a 1-year ban?

Congratulations to Andy Schleck!