Cycling:Spain's Alberto Contador is free to defend his Tour de France title in July after the Court of Arbitration for Sport this evening confirmed his doping case would be heard after the race.
The 28-year-old is waiting to learn whether CAS will overturn a Spanish cycling federation decision to clear him of any wrongdoing following a positive test for clenbuterol at the 2010 Tour.
The hearing was postponed last week and will now be heard from August 1st-3rd. This year’s Tour finishes on July 24th.
The three-time Tour de France champion Contador has blamed his positive test on July 21st last year, the final rest day of the 2010 Tour, on contaminated meat.
The Spanish cycling federation (RFEC) initially proposed giving the Saxo Bank-SunGard rider a one-year ban before subsequently acquitting him.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) both appealed that decision to the CAS, which had been set to rule next month whether the Tour de France champion would be banned for two years or not.
The case certainly does not appear to be a distraction for Contador, who won his second Giro d’Italia title last weekend. The 2011 Tour de France begins on July 2nd in Passage du Gois in western France.