Alberto Contador was stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title yesterday and banned for two years after sport's highest court found him guilty of doping.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended the three-time Tour champion after rejecting his claim that his positive test for clenbuterol was caused by eating contaminated meat.

The three-man CAS panel upheld appeals by the International Cycling Union and World Anti-Doping Agency, which challenged a Spanish cycling tribunal's decision last year to exonerate Contador. His ban was backdated and he is eligible to return to competition on August 6.

The decision was announced by CAS in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Contador has continued racing since testing positive on a 2010 Tour rest day.

Contador becomes only the second Tour de France champion to be disqualified and stripped of victory for doping. The first was Floyd Landis, the American who lost his 2006 title after testing positive for testosterone.

Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, who finished second at the 2010 Tour, stands to be elevated to victory. Contador tested positive on the July 21 rest day.