Schleck, Scarponi not happy about titles
Andy Schleck of Luxembourg said he was not ecstatic about the prospect of being declared 2010 Tour de France champion after the initial winner Alberto Contador is to be stripped of the title over a doping offence.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Monday that Contador committed a doping offence when he tested positive for clenbuterol during the 2010 Tour. Contador was banned for two years by CAS and loses his titles from the 2010 Tour and 2011 Giro d'Italia.
Schleck placed second behind Contador but reacted without joy in a statement issued though his Radio Shack team.
"There is no reason to be happy now. First of all I feel sad for Alberto. I always believed in his innocence. This is just a very sad day for cycling. The only positive news is that there is a verdict after 566 days of uncertainty. Now, we can move on," said Schleck.
"I trust that the CAS judges took all things into consideration after reading the 4 000-page file. If now I am declared overall winner of the 2010 Tour de France it will not make me happy. I battled with Contador in that race and I lost.
"My goal is to win the Tour de France in a sportive way, being the best of all competitors, not in court. If I succeed this year, I will consider it as my first Tour de France victory."
Michele Scarponi of Italy, set to be declared 2011 Giro champion after originally coming second, was also not happy, in a statement issued by his Lampre team.
"Together with my team, Lampre-ISD, I acknowledge the decision by the TAS about Contador case. For what concerns the human aspect, I'm very sorry for Alberto. For what concerns the professional aspect, this decision doesn't change the value of the results I obtained and the targets for the future," he said.