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COPENHAGEN - Team Saxo Bank rider Andy Schleck said Tuesday he and teammate Stuart O'Grady have been removed from the Spanish Vuelta because they drank alcohol.
Schleck said he broke a team rule "by going out for a drink after dinner" and said he is "responsible for my actions."
However, the Luxembourg rider told Cyclingnews.com that the decision by the Danish team's boss Bjarne Riis to remove the pair was "too harsh."
"I was getting back into shape and I would really have liked to stay at the Vuelta and help Frank and the rest of Team Saxo Bank," Schleck told Cyclingnews.com.
Riis was not available for comment, but a Team Saxo Bank statement confirmed the two riders had been "sent home due to internal disciplinary reasons."
Relations between Riis and Andy Schleck and his brother Frank have been tense since they said they would leave to join a newly created team based in Luxembourg.
Other Team Saxo Bank riders O'Grady, Jakob Fuglsang, Jens Voigt and Stuart have been also linked with the new team created by Riis' former and longtime press assistant Brian Nygaard and his then-aide Kim Andersen.
On Aug. 3, 2010, three-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador signed a deal to compete for Team Saxo Bank-Sungard next season after deciding to leave Astana. Team Saxo Bank-Sungard, which is the new name for next season, also will include David Tanner of Australia and Denmark's Brian Vandborg.
Denmark's TV2 said neither Schleck nor O'Grady were at the start of the 10th stage of the Vuelta a Espana on Tuesday in Tarragona.
Igor Anton retained the overall lead in the Vuelta after Sunday's stage, which was won by David Lopez of Spain. Monday was the first rest day of the 21-stage race.
