Breaking News: Saxo Bank boots Schleck and O’Grady from Vuelta for “rules violation”
The Saxo Bank team has prevented Andy Schleck and Stuart O'Grady from starting the 10th stage of the Vuelta a España on Tuesday, citing an unspecified "rules violation," according to Danish news reports.
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The Saxo Bank team has prevented Andy Schleck and Stuart O’Grady from starting the 10th stage of the Vuelta a España on Tuesday, citing an unspecified “rules violation,” according to Danish news reports.
The sporten.dk website and TV 2 Sport reported that team boss Bjarne Riis took the action Tuesday morning in advance of the day’s stage.
The news reports mentioned violations of team rules, but were not clear as to which rules were allegedly broken. Speaking with reporters at the start in Tarragona, Riis wouldn’t elaborate, but said the violations did not involve doping allegations. Later reports suggest that the two may have violated a team ban on alcohol.
Luxembourg’s Schleck was a runner-up at the 2009 and 2010 Tour de France and the 2007 Giro d’Italia. O’Grady has three Tour de France stage wins, won Paris-Roubaix in in 2007 and Olympic Madison gold in 2004. Both are expected to leave the team at season’s end to join a new squad organized and sponsored by Luxembourg-based businesses.