Contador’s triumph takes a back seat

CYCLING may have a new star in Alberto Contador but the Spaniard’s heroics in this year’s Tour de France took a back seat yesterday as the sport’s doping problem continued to dominate.

It sums up the current state of cycling that Contador’s maiden Tour de France success was viewed with scepticism as much as anything else.

Not since Marco Pantani in 1998 has an out-and-out climber prevailed in the Tour, and the likes of Lance Armstrong and Miguel Indurain — who between them won the yellow jersey 12 times — have been quick to talk up Contador’s bright future.