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When Alberto Contador burst onto the scene in 2007, he was immediately anointed as the next great one in cycling. The Spanish sensation won the Tour de France in his second appearance, leading the Discovery Channel team that was formerly helmed by Lance Armstrong.

His team was banned from the Tour the following year because of unrelated doping offenses by a former member, but Contador won cycling's other two grand tours instead. After claiming both the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana in 2008, he became the youngest rider to have won all three tours, at the tender age of 25.

He would win his next two Tours to further his dominance, or so it seemed. In 2009, he thwarted Armstrong's comeback by repeatedly attacking him in the mountains, even though they were teammates. He defended his Tour title the following year, but two month later it was revealed that one of his samples had traces of clenbuterol, a banned PED.

Contador contested the tests - claiming they came up positive because he ate tainted beef - and was cleared by the Spanish federation. He continued to ride and went on to win the Giro again in 2011. But his luck in court finally ran out in February 2012, as he was found guilty by the international Court of Arbitration for Sport. He was forced to vacate his 2010 Tour title and 2011 Giro title - becoming the first rider to lose multiple grand tour victories - and was suspended until August 2012.

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