TURIN, Italy (AP) — With a doping case still hanging over him, Alberto Contador goes into the Giro d’Italia as the big favorite in what he calls the “most difficult race I have ever faced.”
The Spaniard races in the year’s first multi-stage starting Saturday after winning the Volta of Catalunya and Vuelta of Murcia.
The Giro starts with a team time trial in Turin and concludes May 29 with an individual time trial in Milan.
Contador, who tested positive for clenbuterol while winning last year’s Tour de France, was cleared of doping by the Spanish cycling federation after he blamed the result on eating contaminated beef.
Cycling’s governing body and the World Anti-Doping Agency have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which is expected to issue a ruling before this year’s Tour.
