This Day in Drinking: Andy Schleck sent home from Tour of Spain

Paul Andrews, BI editor — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:24:44 +0000

Never suspended for drinking.

Well we’d certainly like to know the backstory here. Andy Schleck, runner-up in this year’s and projected winner of next year’s Tour de France, was sent home from the Spanish Vuelta for going out for a drink with Saxo Bank teammate Stuart O’Grady (who also was kicked out).

Team director Bjarne Riis, who has acknowledged winning the Tour de France in 1996 while doping fer cryin’ out loud, must want to set a squeaky-clean agenda for Saxo next season. We’ve never heard of an elite pro rider being sent home for having a nip after dinner, but it’s probably there in the Saxo Guide to Inappropriate Behavior somewhere.

In any case, Riis hasn’t been happy with Andy and brother Frank since they announced they were leaving to form a new Luxembourg team (their home country) right before the Tour de France. Riis was, however, gracious enough to say Andy’s disciplining “had nothing to do” with doping. Just in case some members of the cycling public don’t know the difference between Tanqueray and testosterone.

No word on what Andy’s poison was, but — recalling W.C. Fields’ great line, “Who put orange juice in my orange juice?” — we hope it was something more, uh, invigorating than a Budweiser.

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This Day in Drinking: Andy Schleck sent home from Tour of Spain