Reaction to the Court of Arbitration for Sport's ruling to strip Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador of his 2010 Tour de France title and ban him for two years for doping:
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''Alberto Contador presented an explanation for the presence of clenbuterol in his system - the fact that he has ingested contaminated meat, that he had eaten during the Tour de France 2010. This scenario has been declared possible but unlikely in the present case, because after examination of all the evidence, CAS has found that it was very unlikely this contaminated food could be originated from Spain.'' - CAS Secretary General Matthieu Reeb.
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''This is an appropriate decision from CAS which represents the effective nature of the World Anti-Doping Code.'' - World Anti-Doping Agency President John Fahey.
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''This is a sad day for our sport. Some may think of it as a victory, but that is not at all the case. There are no winners when it comes to the issue of doping: Every case, irrespective of its characteristics, is always a case too many.'' - UCI President Pat McQuaid.
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''At last an answer after a process that never ended. It is here now, that's a good thing, but it is obviously very late, too late. It is fundamental that there be less time between sports' justice and sports and media events. Alberto Contador kept cycling for 18 months. He was cycling everywhere. ... As for the winner of the Tour de France 2010, it needs to be confirmed by the UCI. But logically, it will be Andy Schleck as soon as the UCI tells us.'' - Tour de France chief Christian Prudhomme.
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''The result was obviously not what we had hoped for but for now our management team is still in the process of reviewing the ruling and the documentation so we can better understand the decision.'' - Bjarne Riis, owner of Contador's Team Saxo Bank.
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''There is no reason to be happy now. First of all I feel sad for Alberto. I always believed in his innocence. ... If now I am declared overall winner of the 2010 Tour de France, it will not make me happy. I battled with Contador in that race and I lost. My goal is to win the Tour de France in a sportive way, being the best of all competitors, not in court. If I succeed this year, I will consider it as my first Tour victory.'' - cyclist Andy Schleck, who stands to be elevated to the 2010 Tour de France champion.
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''It's very bad for cycling. It's bad for everybody. It's like someone wants to kill cycling.'' - five-time Tour de France winner Eddy Merckx.
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''I was convinced that he would be cleared. The (case) dragged on not just a little bit but a long time since the Tour. The longer he waited, the more time passed, and at the end the penalty was the maximum that he could receive. There are experts that have decided the why and the how. They are the ones who have made the decision. He was sure he would be cleared. Now he has to keep working and stay in shape. He has known how to fight through the tough moments and he will continue doing so.'' - five-time Tour champion Miguel Indurain.
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''He's innocent. I know him. Alberto has put his life on the line in descents and sprints over the past two years, so what if something would have happened to him? (I'm) at a loss for words.'' - Spanish cyclist Oscar Pereiro, the 2006 Tour de France champion.
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''There are lots of sports that don't put in the effort to stop doping. If you don't do tests and don't try to stop it, you don't have any scandals. If you're trying to stop it, then you are going to have negative press. I would rather us have negative press and clean the sport up than do what American baseball does and not even try. Like I say, no one wants these things to happen, but it happens.'' - American cyclist Tyler Farrar.
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''Regardless of the outcome for Contador, I just wish, for the sake of our sport and everyone in it, that a decision had been made sooner.'' - British cyclist Mark Cavendish, 2011 winner of the Tour de France's green jersey awarded to the best sprinter.
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''If he didn't follow the rules, it's normal that there is a suspension. We work hard against doping because we don't want cheaters and that's probably why he got such a heavy suspension.'' - Norwegian cyclist Thor Hushovd.
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''I'm one of those who said that as clenbuterol is not produced by our body, then as soon as it's found in someone's urine it demonstrates that clenbuterol has been taken. Either accidentally, as Contador claimed, or on purpose. What I see is that the UCI and WADA were right to appeal the decision of the Spanish federation and it is also a very strong sign of the fight against doping. Even if the clenbuterol got into his body accidentally, the rules were applied completely and I am satisfied with this decision.'' - French cycling federation president David Lapartient.
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''There are still riders bent on cheating who haven't understood the rules. It's sad that Contador didn't understand. He's got natural talent, but he used performance-enhancing drugs and he's paying the price. This spreads more discredit on our sport. A rider who wins by cheating is not a champion so let's stop calling Contador a champion. He's got some good qualities but it wasn't enough. Now, I don't know if he would have won the Tour with his own qualities.'' - Eric Boyer, head of French team Cofidis and president of the association of pro cycling teams.
