Yates weary despite Tour triumph

Contador's victory helped Discovery to take the team title

Sean Yates admits it was hard to enjoy his Discovery Channel team's success in the scandal-hit Tour de France.

Alberto Contador's win was overshadowed by a series of drug-related revelations which have damaged cycling's image.

Discovery Channel sporting director Yates told BBC Sport: "The majority of the guys were glad to get the Tour over and done with - it's been fraught.

"There are times when you feel ashamed to be associated with cycling, but hopefully things will turn around."

Interview: Discovery Channel's Sean Yates

Britain's Yates, a former stage winner in the Tour de France and Tour of Spain , rejected any notion that doubts also surround Contador after the Operation Puerto doping raids in his native Spain.

"Alberto was in the wrong team at the wrong time, and there is no link at all to anything suspicious," he insisted.

Yates said Contador, 24, was part of a new wave of clean professional cyclists gradually replacing an older generation associated with drug use.

"It's that older generation who have been around for a while that are getting caught out," he said.

"What we have to do now is move on as a sport so that all events can be held in the proper manner."