Contador doping decision expected Thursday

Alberto Contador will learn the verdict on his failed Tour de France doping test on Thursday.

Contador failed a doping test on the way to his third Tour title, and the Spanish cyclist blamed the positive clenbuterol result on contaminated meat.

Spanish cycling federation head Juan Carlos Castano told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Contador will receive the disciplinary committee's decision and will then have 10 days to present any new evidence or material should he wish.

The committee will then reconvene to determine whether it alters the sentence before making a final decision.

That decision could then be appealed by Contador, the International Cycling Union or the World Anti-Doping Agency to the Court for Arbitration of Sport.

Spanish reports this week said Contador will likely receive a one-year ban, which would strip him of his Tour title and keep him from racing in this year's edition.

The disciplinary committee was hoping the UCI would provide its own verdict in the case but Castano said the Swiss-based body had not answered its request.

Contador spokesman Jacinto Vidarte said Wednesday the cyclist had received no word from the federation over when it would receive the decision.

Contador, a three-time Tour champion and winner of the Giro d'Italia and Spanish Vuelta, tested positive during a rest day at last year's Tour.

He claims he ingested the muscle-building, weight-loss drug clenbuterol inadvertently after eating beef.

Clenbuterol is considered a zero-tolerance drug by WADA.

Contador, who also won the Tour in 2007 and 2009, signed a two-year deal to race for Saxo Bank from this season.