Two of the biggest names on the Saxo Bank Vuelta a España squad, Andy Schleck and Stuart O’Grady, have been prevented from starting today’s tenth stage by team manager Bjarne Riis. Schleck has finished second overall in the past two Tours de France and while he was not showing good form thus far in the race, his exclusion will be a blow to the squad’s Vuelta leader, his brother Frank Schleck.
Details were initially scarce, with TV2 Sport initially reporting that the duo were sent home due to ‘violation of the team’s internal policies.’ Riis and Team Saxo Bank have thus far not elaborated on the reasons for the decision, but the team owner spoke briefly to TV2 Sport and ruled out doping.
Schleck was contacted by Sporten.dk, and said that the reason they were excluded was due to going for drinks yesterday night.
“The fact is that on the rest day yesterday, we chose to go out after eating late dinner, which people do in Spain,” he said. “We had no more than two beers each, then we went home at 1 o’clock and met Bjarne who was sitting at another bar.”
Riis is set to comment at the end of the stage. Unusually, the team did not issue a statement when the news broke.
Both Andy Schleck and O’Grady are due to leave the team at the end of the season, and therefore the Vuelta was the last Grand Tour they will ride in Saxo Bank colours. The Schleck brothers will compete with the new, as-yet unnamed Luxembourg team in 2011, which will be run by former Saxo Bank staff Brian Nygaard and Kim Andersen. O’Grady is also expected to compete there, although he and the other riders have not yet been confirmed.
Frank Schleck went into the Vuelta as the team’s clear leader. The Tour de Suisse victor had to withdraw from the Tour de France after crashing on the cobblestones of stage three, and has been preparing instead for the Spanish Tour. He has been a little off his top form thus far, and began today’s stage in 13th place overall. He is 1’47 behind race leader Igor Anton (Euskaltel-Euskadi), while his brother was a distant 77th overall, 37’16 behind.
It remains to be seen how Frank Schleck will react to today’s unexpected developments. He and his brother are very close. He may be frustrated that he hasn’t received the best support possible from Andy Schleck, given that the latter had promised to help him try to win the Vuelta. However, he is unlikely to support sending the two riders home as it leaves the team weaker than before.
More later...