Alberto Contador

Alberto Contador, the 2010 Tour de France winner, had his title taken away Monday after being found guilty of doping, specifically for testing positive for clenbuterol. The drug is a beta2-agonist that works as a bronchodilator, loosening muscles that line the airways so that air can pass through more easily. It has other properties as well that are attractive to athletes, some of whom use it as a performance-enhancing drug. Clenbuterol can also increase heart rate, build lean muscle mass and promote weight loss.

If seven-time winner Lance Armstrong is stripped of his victories by cycling's governing body, the Tour de France will have no official winner from 1999-2005, according to Christian Prudhomme, the race's director. Prudhomme told the Associated Press on Friday that the Tour de France will follow the lead of the International Cycling Union, which will decide by the end of October whether to accept the U.S. Anti-Doping Assn.'s lifetime ban and stripping of victories for Armstrong, who is accused of using performance-enhancing drugs and participating in a system of cheating.

The tension with Lance Armstrong is all but gone in the crisp mountain air, and the line of authority is clear. Now, Alberto Contador wants to concentrate on those teams intent on seizing his Tour de France lead. The Spaniard used Monday's rest day to lay out his plan of attack to keep the yellow jersey he won by capturing the first stage in the Alps a day earlier.

Alberto Contador, for a brief time Lance Armstrong's cycling teammate, had his 2010 Tour de France title taken away and a two-year ban for doping enforced Monday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. CAS' ruling upheld decisions by the International Cycling Union and the World Anti-Doping Agency, which had fought to uphold penalties against Contador after a Spanish cycling tribunal exonerated him last year. The 29-year-old Spaniard failed a doping test that had been conducted during the last rest day of the 2010 Tour de France.

Alberto Contador all but assured his second Tour de France victory Thursday, winning the race's final time trial while Lance Armstrong moved up one spot to third place. Contador, Armstrong's Astana teammate and the 2007 Tour champion, increased his overall lead in the 18th stage, in which cyclists rode against the clock on the 25-mile course in and around Annecy. The three-week race ends Sunday on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

Alberto Contador of Spain all but won his third Tour de France when he extended his lead over Andy Schleck to 39 seconds following the 52-kilometer individual penultimate stage time trial on Saturday. Contador held an eight-second advantage over his rival going into the timed stage and a strong finish over the final third of the course put the title in his grasp despite a valiant effort from Luxembourg's Andy Schleck, who is now set to finish runner-up for the second consecutive year.

It would take something very unusual -- crash, illness -- for wraithlike Alberto Contador to lose the Tour de France now. But that doesn't mean the next three days will be boring. Expect Lance Armstrong to fight extra hard in today's 25-mile time trial in Annecy, France, and even more so on Saturday when the tour takes riders up the rocky, steep, brutally hot and desolate Mt. Ventoux. Armstrong probably can't win, but he can aim for the podium when the race ends Sunday in Paris.

— Defending champion Alberto Contador warned Tour de France race leader Andy Schleck what to expect in the Pyrenees stages with a blistering attack Friday on one of his favorite climbs in Mende. Contador was beaten to the finish line of the 12th stage by fellow Spaniard Joaquin Rodriguez, but Contador's move in the last 1.2 miles allowed him to take 10 seconds off the lead of Schleck, whom he now trails by 31 seconds in the overall standings. Contador's right-hand man Alexandre Vinokourov, who went early in a breakaway, took third and forced his Astana teammate's rivals to chase him all day. Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong, who all but lost the race last Sunday after a crash, fell off the pace in the final ascent, crossing the line in 57th, 3:35 off the pace.

Spanish rider Alberto Contador has been provisionally suspended for returning an "adverse analytical finding" of clenbuterol from a urine sample taken during the Tour de France, the International Cycling Union said Thursday. The cyclist, who won his third Tour de France this year, was tested during the second rest day of the race and the second B test had confirmed the presence of clenbuterol, a banned anabolic agent, the UCI said in a statement. "The rider, who had already put an end to his cycling season before the result was known, was nevertheless formally and provisionally suspended as is prescribed by the World Anti-Doping Code," the statement said.

Andy Schleck is likely to add a third white jersey to his collection as the best young rider in the Tour de France, but he probably will have to wait at least another year to upgrade it to yellow. The Luxembourg rider won the 17th stage of the Tour at the top of the Col du Tourmalet on Thursday, although the 25-year-old's victory was tempered by the knowledge that he had failed in what was considered to be his last chance to topple Alberto Contador, the defending champion and overall leader.

Alberto Contador, the 2010 Tour de France winner, had his title taken away Monday after being found guilty of doping, specifically for testing positive for clenbuterol. The drug is a beta2-agonist that works as a bronchodilator, loosening muscles that line the airways so that air can pass through more easily. It has other properties as well that are attractive to athletes, some of whom use it as a performance-enhancing drug. Clenbuterol can also increase heart rate, build lean muscle mass and promote weight loss.

Former No. 1 Justine Henin retired from tennis for a second time Wednesday, citing a lingering right elbow injury that cut short her comeback from a glittering career that included seven Grand Slam titles. "I have undergone several tests the past few days, confirming that my elbow has sustained a lot more damage during my adventure in Australia," the 28-year-old Belgian said on her website. She made the announcement five days after losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova , 6-4, 7-6 (8)

The Amgen Tour of California cycling race for 2011 will have a visually spectacular mountaintop finish on the second-to-last stage at Mt. Baldy after beginning with a high-altitude first stage that takes cyclists around Lake Tahoe, organizers announced. The May 15-22 event, America's largest stage race, will again feature a time trial in Solvang after a one-time move to downtown Los Angeles last spring. In addition, race director Andrew Messick said the Claremont-to-Mt.

Spanish rider Alberto Contador has been provisionally suspended for returning an "adverse analytical finding" of clenbuterol from a urine sample taken during the Tour de France, the International Cycling Union said Thursday. The cyclist, who won his third Tour de France this year, was tested during the second rest day of the race and the second B test had confirmed the presence of clenbuterol, a banned anabolic agent, the UCI said in a statement. "The rider, who had already put an end to his cycling season before the result was known, was nevertheless formally and provisionally suspended as is prescribed by the World Anti-Doping Code," the statement said.

Current Tour de France champion Alberto Contador has tested positive for a banned stimulant. Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong is a central figure in a federal grand jury probe of drug use in the sport. And 2006 champion Floyd Landis has confessed to performance-enhancing drug use when he won. So, why should we should care about professional cycling? "No cycling fan, sponsor, or race organizer can credibly argue that the sport has not been corrupted to the point where it lacks credibility," said David M. Carter, principal of the Sports Business Group, a marketing firm.