Alberto Contador ruling for failed test not likely until mid-January

An initial ruling on Alberto Contador's positive test for clenbuterol during the year's Tour de France is unlikely until mid-January, according to Juan Carlos Castano, the president of the Spanish Cycling Union, whose organisation has been delegated the task of taking any disciplinary action against the three-time Tour de France winner. Castano added that he expects the case to be disputed whatever the ruling. "I do not expect an outcome before mid-January," he told the Spanish paper AS. "The case is likely to end up before the Court of Arbitration for Sport because none of the parties involved will be satisfied [with the outcome]. It is not a straightforward case and it calls for comprehensive investigation." Contador, who has claimed the substance could only have appeared in his urine due to his eating contaminated meat, has already begun training for 2011 with his new team, Saxo Bank.