Contador outraged by doping ban

An angry Alberto Contador said on Tuesday that he “totally disagreed” with his two-year doping ban but vowed to continue in professional cycling.

Speaking for the first time since Monday’s Court of Arbitration for Sport verdict, the 29-year-old Spaniard said he had lived through torment.

“I cannot understand the sanction that has been imposed on me,” the cyclist told a news conference at a hotel in his hometown of Pinto just south of Madrid.

“As for the decision, I totally disagree. I am going to continue cycling. I am going to continue practising it cleanly, the way I have my entire life. My mood right now is not the best but I know this will make me stronger in the future.”

Contador – who may appeal against the decision – added: “Anyone who reads the decision will see clearly that I did not take drugs.

“There have been speculations, leaks, it is been a real torment. But the hardest thing has been to see my family, the suffering they have had, my wife, for what they have accused me of.

“And it is for something that goes against everything that has been instilled in me.”

When asked if he would appeal against the Lausanne-based CAS’s decision in the Swiss federal court, which he must do within 30 days, he said: “My lawyers are examining the possibilities and as I have said before we have to fight to the end.

“With the sentence in my hand the sensation I still feel is that I am innocent. I did not dope myself.”

Backdated to August 2010, when he announced the news of his positive test weeks after his third Tour de France victory, the ban means Contador can return to competition on August 6, 2012.

As well as ruling him out of this year’s Tour de France and the Olympic Games in London, he will be stripped of his 2010 yellow jersey, which will now be handed to runner-up Andy Schleck of Luxembourg.