Three-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador of Spain and six-time event stage winner Alessandro Petacchi of Italy will not attend the 2011 race’s presentation Tuesday.
Contador’s spokesman Jacinto Vidarte told L’Equipe, the French daily sports newspaper, the Spanish rider won’t be in Paris because of an ongoing doping investigation.
Petacchi, the Tour's green jersey winner in 2010, is waiting for the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) to announce its decision of allegations the noted sprinter doped.
“We are still waiting for the UCI’s verdict,” Vidarte told the French newspaper and as reported on CyclingNews.com. “We always hoped that the decision would be made before the Tour presentation. Alberto wants his innocence to be proved by the UCI. If they don’t make a decision by Tuesday, I can’t imagine Alberto going to Paris .”
Contador has been provisionally suspended after the banned drug clenbuterol was discovered in one of his samples from this year’s Tour de France
Contador claimed the positive test was caused by “food contamination." He has speculation he also engaged in blood transfusions during the race.
If convicted, Contador faces a two-year suspension and lost of his Tour de France title.
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