Alberto Contador has been cleared of all doping charges by the Spanish Cycling Federation. 

The SaxoBank Sunguard rider was provisionally banned for one-year following a positive test for clenbuterol, a weight loss and muscle building drug, on the 2010 Tour de France’s second rest day.

Contador went on to win his third Tour title, following previous victories in 2007 and 2009.

But despite initially banning the 29-year-old, the Spanish Cycling Federation’s four-man disciplinary panel has reversed its ban – although the UCI and the World Anti-Doping Agency could yet still appeal. 

Contador appealed the initial decision and last week submitted his final defence, which hinged on his claim that the clenbuterol had been ingested as a result of contaminated beef. 

Contador, who made the switch from Astana to SaxoBank Sunguard at the start of the 2011 season, is on his team’s provisional start list for the five-day Tour of the Algarve – and could line-up on the start line when then race gets underway tomorrow.