Monday, February 6, 2012

Michele Scarponi Becomes 2011 Giro d'Italia Winner

After a seemingly forever 566 days Alberto Contador was today handed a two year suspension by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for the presence of clenbuterol in his urine sample during the 2010 Tour de France.

The suspension means that Contador will lose race results dating back to the 2010 Tour de France and includes the 2011 Giro d'Italia. Andy Schleck will become the 2010 Tour de France winner. Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD) becomes the winner of the 2011 Giro d'Italia with Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) moving into 2nd place and John Gadret (AG2R La Mondiale) moving into 3rd.

Of the CAS decision Michele Scarponi said, "Together with my team, Lampre-ISD, I acknowledge the decision by the CAS about the Contador case. For what concerns the human aspect, I'm very sorry for Alberto. For what concerns the professional aspect, this decision doesn't change the value of the results I obtained and the targets for the future"

The two year suspension for Contador ends August 5th, 2012, which only leaves the Vuelta a España as the only grand tour he can contest this year.

Related Stories:
The Giro and the Contador Problem
The Giro and the Contador Problem, Part II
Contador Wins 2011 Giro d'Italia
2010 Tour de France: Contador Wins, Petacchi Takes Green Jersey

Photo: 2011 Giro d'Italia podium

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

2 comments:

  1. Larry wondered at the time if they quietly shot some extra photos with maybe Scarponi on the top step, etc? Now the photos of Il Pistolero hoisting the trophy look rather silly - as does the entire sport of pro cycling. A guy stripped of a win in 2010, but not until February of 2012? And his effective sanction will be barely 6 months so he can still race on one of 2012's Grand Tours?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hopefully Alberto will race the Vuelta this year. When he's in form no one can touch him in the mountains.

    ReplyDelete