体坛英语新闻：Contador adds to Spanish voices defending Armstrong

MADRID, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Alberto Contador has added his voice to those of fellow Spaniards, Samuel Sanchez and Miguel indurain criticizing the decision by the International Cycling Union to strike Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles as a result of doping allegations.

Armstrong was stripped of his titles after an exhaustive study by the United States Anti-Doping Agency concluded Armstrong and his US Postal team had organized the most efficient systemized doping program in cycling.

Although Armstrong never officially gave a positive drug test, the testimony of over 20 former team-mates was enough to condemn Armstrong, who also faces the prospect of having to repay all of the prize money he won during his time as a professional cyclist.

On Tuesday, Sanchez, the gold medal winner in the 2008 Olympics and five-times Tour winner, Indurain, said they felt the verdict was unfair and speaking at the presentation of the 2013 Tour, Contador gave his support to Armstrong.

"I think that there are moments when Lance is not being given any respect. They are humiliating him and lynching him from my point of view. They are destroying him," said Contador, who was a team-mate of Armstrong himself in the 2009 Tour de France.

Contador won that edition of the Tour after a bitter battle with Armstrong, he also won the 2007 Tour, but was stripped of the 2010 title and banned for two years after a positive test for clembuterol.

He claimed the test came as a result of eating contaminated steak imported from the Basque country, although 14,000 EU tests on Spanish livestock in 2010 failed to find one case of clembuterol contamination in the country.

Contador had previously formed part of the 'Astana-Worth' team that was heavily implicated with the Operation Puerto doping scandal in 2006, although a Spanish judge cleared the Spaniard of any wrong doing.

He also enjoyed a working relationship with Johan Bruyneel, who was Armstrong's team director at US Postal and Discovery, as well as Astana where all three coincided in 2009. Contador worked with Bruyneel at Discovery Channel and also at Astana.

The Spanish rider also worked with Pepe Marti, who was team doctor at Discovery channel and Contador's personal trainer at Astana. Marti received a lifetime ban in the summer for his implication in doping.

"I don't know what happened," said Contador over the Armstrong case. "What I do know is that cycling is popular in the US thanks to him and they know what the Tour is because of him.

"There is no new proof and his ban is based on testimonies that could have been made in 2005," said the Spaniard, who added there was no need to toughen anti-doping controls in cycling today.

"The measures that there are now are the maximum that they could be," he commented.