Contador says the doping agent clenbuterol turned up in his urine sample because he ate contaminated Spanish beef (which the whiny Spnaish beef industry doubts is true). Floyd Landis says clenbuterol is a commonly used performance enhancer well-known among the peloton.

The dour Spaniard says he hopes for a speedy resolution of his case, as long as it’s “not guilty.” If that doesn’t happen, the whiny Spaniard says he may quit cycling.

VeloNews’ Andrew Hood enlightens us on the four lawyers now reviewing Contador’s case.

Now you have a situation where a leading Spanish cyclist accuses a Spanish beef producer of disseminating beef contaminated with a muscle-building drug used to fatten cattle quickly. And in the middle, Spain’s doping authorities have to sort it all out.

So here’s where we stand. Contador, winner of the Tour de France, has been accused of using clenbuterol after trace amounts were found in his urine samples taken during last July’s Tour. Contador says he unknowingly ingested the drug by eating contaminated meat from a butcher in northern Spain.

The World Anti-doping Agency said after visiting the butcher and his slaughterhouse that it could find no evidence to support Contador’s claim.

So now Spain’s beef producers are calling for an investigation into Contador’s allegations.

Meanwhile, Luxembourg ace and our man Andy Schleck, the Tour’s runner-up who stands to take the 2010 yellow jersey away from Contador if the latter is found culpable, says he believes Contador is telling the truth and doesn’t want the crown sloppy seconds. Like Matt Damon in “Rounders,” he wants to win the Tour straight up — not “via a desk.” That’s why we love Andy.

Armstrong Doping Investigation JRA — Just Rolling Along

American investigators were in France to review evidence in their grand jury investigation into allegations of systematic doping by the American champion Lance Armstrong.

A week ago the Americans met with French police at the headquarters of the international law enforcement agency Interpol, in Lyon. That meeting, according to sources cited by the AP, focused largely on a police investigation of medical equipment retrieved from a trash container during the 2009 Tour.

So Jonathan’s comments to VeloNews‘ Andrew Hood on the hoopla surrounding Alberto Contador’s provisional suspension for doping bear thoughtful consideration:

“At end of day, it’s one very high-profile problem. The sad part is it detracts from the general and global progress that’s been made against doping,” he continued. “The meaning of the data is incredibly positive. It’s disappointing (to see negative headlines) because so much progress has been made.”

Vaughters is right in one sense. This year’s Giro d’Italia — a once drug-besotted event — concluded with no positive dope tests. And the Tour de France’s only black mark so far is the cloud over Contador, which the dour Spaniard still claims is misguided.

Moreover, most of the top riders are saying they’ve gotten the message and joined in calling for clean Grand Tours. The prevailing ethic seems to be to put the past behind them and stay straight up for the duration.

Check out Andrew’s whole story.

Meanwhile, former Lance teammate Yaroslav Popovych, a Ukrainian rider known as an Amrstrong loyalist, testified in the federal probe into allegations against Armstrong.

And Floyd Landis, whose “coming clean” included charges against Armstrong, has been ordered to stand trial for computer hacking related to his own doping past.

Meanwhile, banned Italian cyclist Pietrio Caucchioli has decided to challenge the validity of the “biological passport” test used in his case. This comes just days after fellow countryman Franco Pellizotti was cleared of doping charges on the basis of insufficient evidence from biological passport data. Pellizotti’s lawyers argued the biological passport is not a reliable mechanism. If Caucchioli succeeds it could further cloud use of the bio passport for dope detection — in and of itself, at least. It still may find utility for casting suspicion on a rider’s performance — which then followup blood testing could confirm.