HA reminds me of the old Pinky and the Brain skit:
Brain : Pinky are you pondering what I’m pondering
Pinky: Duh, I think so Brain, but how do we get the Spice Girls into the Paella.
I'm no fan of Contador's but I think I'm gonna need “further scientific investigation before any conclusion [can] be drawn,”too.
From R4R's NYT link: "Traces of clenbuterol have been found in nutritional supplements...The swimmer Jessica Hardy missed the 2008 Olympics after testing positive for the drug; she said she had taken a contaminated supplement. An arbitration panel later ruled that her claim was true and reduced her two-year ban to one year."
And here is a another story backing the notion that he ingested contaminated meat:
Tour de France champion Alberto Contador's claim that bad meat is to blame for his positive doping test is entirely plausible since clenbuterol is commonly given to animals destined for human consumption, experts say. The drug is often used to speed up growth in animals, including chickens, cows and pigs. Clenbuterol is usually stored in the liver or muscle tissue.
I mean, if you're gonna cheat, are ya gonna do it with trace elements of a banned substance that wouldn't do you any good in those quantities?
They had absolutely no business even provisionally suspending him &/or releasing this story unless they had the goods on this guy, even if he is a cabron. Cycling officials are way too cavalier about gratuitously harming their athletes' reputations without foundation.