MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian cyclist Michael Rogers says he never knowingly took the banned substance clenbuterol and his positive doping test may have resulted from contaminated food in China.
Rogers, a three-time world time trial champion and 2004 Athens Olympic bronze medalist, tested positive after winning the Japan Cup on Oct. 20.
He says his positive test came days after competing in the Tour of Beijing, adding that “food contaminated with clenbuterol is a serious problem in China.”
Alberto Contador, Rogers’ teammate at Saxo-Tinkoff, tested positive for clenbuterol at the 2010 Tour de France and was stripped of the title and banned for two years. Contador also claimed he ate contaminated meat, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected that and ruled a contaminated supplement was likely to blame.
