CAS to hear on Contador's UCI points next week

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The Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear Bjarne Riis' appeal on the UCI's decision not to count any WorldTour points won by Alberto Contador. The hearing has been scheduled for August 19. The court also announced that it will hear the German National Anti-Doping Agency's appeal of the dismissal of doping charges against Patrik Sinkewitz.

The first case stems from Contador's suspension on doping-related charges. His ban ended in early August 2012, and he returned to Saxo-Tinkoff, going on to win the Vuelta a Espana. However, the UCI had earlier ruled that any WorldTour points earned by a rider returning from a doping suspension would not be applied to the team for two years, and that this ruling covered Contador.

The WorldTour points are important in determining whether a team will receive or retain a WorldTour licence.

The rule went into effect after Contador was found to have violated the anti-doping rules, and so Riis argued that it does not apply to him.

Contador has only one win this season, a stage at the Tour de San Luis in January, and finished a disappointing fourth in the Tour de France, but still has managed to gain 252 UCI points, putting him in 12th place.

Including his points, Team Saxo-Tinkoff are fourth in the team ranking. Were his points removed, the team would fall to 11th place, out of 19 teams.

Sinkewitz

The Sinkewitz case stems from his March 2011 positive test for Human Growth Hormone. The German cycling federation cleared him of the charges in June 2012, saying that the World Anti-Doping Agency's guidelines for the values were not shown to be scientifically reliable.

The NADA said that it could not accept that decision. “Especially it has not been explained why these high values were measured in Mr. Sinkewitz' blood.”

The hearings have been scheduled for August 28, 29, and 30.