Alberto Contador stripped of 2010 Tour de France title

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Alberto Contador has been found guilty of doping and was stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title Monday by sport’s highest court.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport also suspended the Spanish cyclist for two years, rejecting his claim that he tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol because he ate contaminated meat.

“Unlike certain other countries, notably outside Europe, Spain is not known to have a contamination problem with clenbuterol in meat,” the three-man panel said in a ruling that upheld appeals by the International Cycling Union and the World Anti-Doping Agency after a Spanish cycling tribunal exonerated Contador last year.

“Furthermore, no other cases of athletes having tested positive to clenbuterol allegedly in connection with the consumption of Spanish meat are known.”

Contador continued racing after testing postive on a rest day during the 2010 Tour.

He will be stripped of all results after Jan. 25, 2011, the day the Spanish federation proposed a one-year ban.

The sports court backdated its ban, leaving the three-time winner of the Tour de France ineligible to compete until Aug. 6. That means he will be able to compete in the Spanish Vuelta but will miss such events as the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and the London Olympics.

Contador has made no comments since the decision but is expected to hold a news conference Tuesday.

Andy Schleck of Luxembourg stands to be elevated from second to first place in the 2010 Tour.

Contador is only the second Tour champion to be stripped of victory for doping, following Floyd Landis of the U.S.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.