Just hours after learning that the Spanish Cycling Federation had opted not to sanction him for his positive test for Clenbuterol, Alberto Contador returned to competitive action at the Tour of the Algarve. While the Spaniard was busy preparing for the race in Portugal, some of his peers were reacting to the news at the Tour of Oman.
Contador’s former teammate Alexandre Vinokourov welcomed the news, telling Cyclingnews that he was pleased that the prize money accrued at the 2010 Tour de France would now stay with the Astana team. Marco Pinotti (HTC-Highroad) noted that the process is a long way from reaching its conclusion.
Meanwhile, Spaniard Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) strongly expressed his support for Contador and said that his fellow countryman was striking a blow against what he claimed to be anomalies in testing. “Let’s hope…that the war Alberto started does not finish here,” Rodriguez said.