An arbitration court has stripped Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador of his 2010 Tour de France title and banned him from competition for two years, after rejecting his claim that a positive test for banned drugs was caused by contaminated meat.

The move by the international Court of Arbitration for Sport, announced Monday, said the suspension runs through August 2012, making the three-time Tour champion ineligible for the race, which is held in early July.

Contador tested positive for the banned anabolic substance clenbuterol after the 2010 race, but was later cleared by the Spanish Cycling Federation. That exoneration prompted an appeal (by the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Cycling Union) that was the focus of Monday's ruling.

The 29-year-old Spaniard claimed he ingested the banned substance by eating a contaminated steak bought from a Spanish supplier.

However, the Court of Arbitration ruling said the presence of clenbuterol was more likely caused by an illegal supplement.

Monday's ruling also strips Contador of all his 2011 wins, including his victory in the vaunted Giro d' Italia race.

Contador joins American Floyd Landis as the only riders to lose their titles. Landis was stripped of his 2006 “Tour” title after testing showed elevated levels of testosterone. He later admitted using banned substances.