Lidl-Trek have confirmed the exit of long-time team manager Luca Guercilena, marking the end of what it calls "an extraordinary 16-year chapter at the helm".

A statement released by the team called the 52-year-old former pro "one of the defining figures behind Lidl-Trek's identity, culture and growth.

"Through his vision, passion and unwavering dedication," it added, "he helped transform the organisation from an ambitious project into one of the most respected teams in professional cycling…"

Guercilena's departure from the team is part of an ongoing staffing reshuffle that began last October, when Lidl acquired a majority stake and the team switched from US to German-registered.

Early appointments included those of former pro cyclist brothers, Andy and Frank Schleck. Andy, who was awarded victory in the 2010 Tour de France after Alberto Contador was stripped of the title for doping offences, took up the post of deputy general manager, and is expected to become CEO following Guercilena's departure. Frank Schleck, a winner of the Tour de Suisse and Amstel Gold Race, was appointed sports director.

Another former pro, Thomas Rohregger, was appointed head of cycling after Lidl took over.

More recently, it was announced that stalwart Visma-Lease a Bike head of racing Grischa Niermann will leave the Dutch team to become part of the Lidl-Trek set-up.

Despite all these appointments, Lidl-Trek are not having a great season. Not helped by Mads Pedersen being out injured for a month – he broke his wrist at the Volta Communitat Valenciana in February – the men's team have only secured around half the wins they had this time last year, and it's a similar story with the women.

Guercilena, whose managerial successes date all the way back to victories with Classics star Fabian Cancellara, said in the statement:

"After 16 unforgettable years, I feel the time is right to hand over leadership and allow the team to enter its next phase with fresh impulses and drive that will spark new hunger to keep pushing the limits. I turn the page knowing that I leave behind a strong organisation made up of great professionals, a group of athletes capable of winning now and in the future, and a strong and determined ownership committed to taking cycling to another level.

"The team has given me incredible emotions thanks to athletes, staff, sponsors, and owners from whom I have always received great support, especially in difficult moments. Lidl-Trek will forever be the team closest to my heart.”

Despite CSC claiming the yellow jersey at the 2008 Tour de France, the Schleck brothers' "taunted" Carlos Sastre during the race, one of their former team-mates has claimed.

Kurt-Asle Arvesen has described Sastre as "a lonely swallow" during the high-point of his cycling career, and than no-one apart from the Spaniard knew about his Tour-winning attack on Alpe d'Huez before he flew out of the GC pack at the bottom of the climb.

Before the Tour, eight of CSC's nine rider for the French Grand Tour had been sent to the Tour de Suisse by team boss Bjarne Riis, while Sastre raced the Critérium du Dauphiné.

"That was very special. We came there to the Tour with eight men from Switzerland, and Sastre was the only rider from the Dauphiné," Arvesen told the Norwegian podcast Tidenes Tour de France, saying this division then manifested itself at the three-week stage race the next month. "Sastre was a lonely swallow. We were nine riders and it was eight to one."

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Arvesen claims the cracks between the Schleck brothers and Sastre had already appeared earlier in the season at the Tour of the Basque Country, when the two parties fell out.

"Sastre was there with his own sports car and there was some bickering with the Schleck brothers. There was a toddler game that was never resolved," he said.

The former Norwegian road race champion says Riis had included him in the Tour squad to try and bring Sastre closer into the fold, the rest of the roster including Fabian Cancellara, Stuart O'Grady, Nicki Sorensen and Jens Voigt.

"We succeeded for the outside world, but there was a very bad atmosphere in the team," Arvesen revealed. "Sastre wanted to take his own chance for the first time in 2008, but suddenly those annoying Schlecks came up. It was a real battle for the leadership."

With Frank Shleck in the yellow jersey heading into the queen stage of the 2008 Tour, the peloton set out on stage 17 to tackle the Col du Galibier, the Col de la Croix de Fer and a summit finish on Alpe d'Huez. However, with an individual time trial on the penultimate stage 20 and Cadel Evans only eight seconds back, CSC's GC lead was far from secure.

As Sastre accelerated out of the GC group at the foot of Alpe d'Huez, it seemed a tactical ploy to force the hand of CSC's rivals, but Arvesen says no-one apart from Sastre knew the Spaniard had planned to lay claim to the yellow jersey over the next 13km and take the overall lead for himself.

"Nobody knew about Sastre's plan. Not Riis, not the Schlecks," Arvesen said.

Up the climb, the Schlecks countered their rival's moves to catch Sastre, but never chased down their own team-mate, who had taken a minute and a half lead over Frank Schleck by the end of the stage. Sastre then survived the stage 20 ITT, maintaining a minute lead over Cadel Evans before wearing yellow into Paris.

It was "a humiliation for the Schlecks," according to Arvesen, with Sastre leaving CSC at the end of the season for Cervélo, and the Schlecks given full leadership of the team that changed name to Saxo Bank for 2009.

Andy Schleck has described winning a Tour de France on paper and not on a bike as "bull***t", and that it took him a long time to accept the reality of his 2010 Tour de France win, saying he believed "Alberto did something he shouldn't have done even if he denies it still."

Andy Schleck finished second to Alberto Contador at the 2010 Tour by 39 seconds, and was retroactively awarded the win in 2012 after Contador was found guilty of doping, with the Spaniard protesting his innocence and maintaining he ingested the banned drug clenbuterol via a contaminated steak.”

In an interview with Belgian sports network Sporza, Andy Schleck says people caught doping shouldn't be allowed to paint themselves as the victims, saying: "We take people who get caught doping, 99% of them stand there and say it was the system, it's not my fault, it was the pressure.

"People who are alcoholic, you ask them why did they start drinking. They say 'I had a tough time at work or my wife left me she's sleeping with a gardener.' That's all excuses, they all stand there in that position like they are a victim but they're not you know.

"You have to see it from different perspectives. I can say today I didn't win the Giro because Danilo Di Luca was doping [Schleck finished second to Di Luca at the 2007 Giro d'Italia], which is true in one way. But you know I don't even go there, I haven't said that before, you're hearing me say that now for the first time."

Considering his staunch anti-doping stance, Schleck is asked about his purported different views on cycling to his ex-team boss Johan Bruyneel. The Luxembourger and Bruyneel were thrown together after the sudden merger of the Leopard and RadioShack teams. Bruyneel was the team boss behind Lance Armstrong's seven Tour de France victories, and left his post in RadioShack-Nissan while still waiting for his USADA hearing.

When asked whether these contrasting views extended to ethical differences Schleck said: "If you are at all related now to a doping programme or anything that is not within the rules, then no.

"There was never any conversation or anything in that direction, at least not with me. If there would have been I would not have shared that idea at all.

"I honestly think with Lance and everything, when the s**t hit the fan, I really believe there were a lot of team directors and team managers who were dodgy before said 'hey we can do it clean'.

"People might believe me or not, people judge anyway, but I was the perfect example. People like Johan Bruyneel, people know that you can win without any help or shortcut."

If Geraint Thomas was on another team, he would have a chance to beat his Team Sky team-mate and win the Tour de France, says former winner Andy Schleck.

>>> Rival teams braced for Richie Porte attack on first summit finish of Tour de France

Schleck saw the race off on stage four from his home town in Mondorf-les-Bains, Luxembourg. The peloton raced the stage back into France towards Vittel.

"It's up there," Schleck told Cycling Weekly. He pointed to his house just above the start village and then turned his attention back to the peloton and the favourites.

"With [Alejandro] Valverde's crash and abandon, the race is now back in team Sky's favour. Unfortunately, Geraint is in the wrong team because he's the guy who can beat Froome," he said.

"Porte is extremely strong, but every one knows that and is watching him very closely. Sky is watching him. Who is left? Aru and Fuglsang."

Perhaps fans could see a situation like 2012 with Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, where the team helper is just as strong, if maybe stronger, than the captain.

"I don't say that, but if the was a team who just supported him, like Movistar, he'd be a real threat for Froome," Schleck added.

"Yeah [it would have been good to see Thomas change teams]. I'm happy for the team, I admire Thomas and Froome is a great champion and a friend.

"I wanted to see Thomas have a chance. I know, he re-signed, but that's a choice you have to make in life."

Schleck says the race swings in Sky's favour because they have the true two-pronged approach with Froome and Thomas.

"Honestly, it looks like Sky did everything right. Next to Froome and Sky, I think there's one team that can beat them, Astana. They have two cards to play with Fabio Aru and Jakob Fuglsang.

"Movistar has no Valverde. Before, Valverde was my favourite. To win the overall? Yeah, I observed him in the Tour of Catalonia and País Vasco. Normally he would be dropped on the very long climbs, but now he managed to drop the others.

"He managed to really step up. We only have three uphill finishes and Valverde is only weak in the high altitude, which was only two stages this year. He was my pick. I believe many experts would agree with me."

Followers will have their first understanding of the race's strongest riders with stage five, the 5.9km summit finish to La Planche des Belles Filles on Wednesday.

"It is very early in the Tour," said Schleck. "You still have a long way to the Alps and Pyrenees, but on the other hand, you can still say you have the yellow jersey on your shoulders. But if you want to win, maybe [stage five] is not the day."

Schleck took the 2010 Tour title after Alberto Contador lost the title due to a doping positive. He retried in 2014 after suffering injury in a crash on the way to London on the third stage of that year's Tour.

At 32 - the same age as Froome and just a year older than Thomas - Schleck now owns a bike shop and works for Tour organiser ASO at select races.

"I feel very honoured to be here," Schleck said.

"I made all the rounds with the television stations, seeing the journalists and old friends, but on the other hand, I'm happy to be retired. I'm very busy, I have a very full schedule every day. I miss it a little bit yes.."

"I'm in the shop every day, but I'm also president of the Tour of Luxembourg, so that's a big thing for us to organise, and I do eight events for ASO, so much in the Asian countries, but also in London and South Africa, where they do L'Étape du Tour."

Former professional cyclist Andy Schleck has had a ban for speeding in his car suspended after lodging an appeal.

Schleck was clocked driving at 84kmh (52mph) in a 50kmh (31mph) zone in Frisange in his native Luxembourg during August 2015, Luxemburger Wort reports.

The 31-year-old was handed a one-month ban from driving and a fine, but lodged an appeal as he needed to drive for his work.

>>> Andy Schleck’s bike shop finally opens and he’ll be working there full time

This led to a protracted legal process, but Schleck has now heard that the ban has been suspended. It will remain on file for five years. During that time, if Schleck is caught speeding again, it will come into force.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iof-zG825f8

Schleck retired from professional cycling in 2014, and opened his bike shop - Andy Schleck Cycles - in Itzig, Luxembourg, in February 2016. In addition to running the shop, Schleck also runs training camps.

The business hit a setback in August when an electrical fire caused some damage, and re-opened in September.

Schleck won the 2010 Tour de France, and was runner-up in the 2009 and 2011 editions. He won three individual stages in the race. He was runner-up in the 2007 Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour outing, and won Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2009.

Schleck's brother Frank retired from cycling at the end of 2016.

Former professional and multiple Grand Tour podium finisher Andy Schleck has been forced to temporarily close his bicycle shop after it was damaged in a fire.

Andy Schleck Cycles, which opened in February this year in Itzig, Luxembourg, will remain closed for a number of weeks due to the damage caused by the incident, according to British newspaper The New European.

The Luxembourger finished second in the Tour de France in 2009, 2010 and 2011, and was later awarded the win for 2010 when Alberto Contador was stripped of the title due to a doping violation.

>>> What Andy Schleck did next

An early race crash in 2012 hindered his season and he was never able to get back to his best, calling time on his career after crashing on stage three of the 2014 Tour de France, as the peloton rode into London.

Schleck gained glory early in his career, winning the best young rider classification at the 2007 Giro d'Italia at the age of 21. He won the same classification at the Tour de France three times from 2008 to 2010.

His brother Frank will join him in retirement at the end of the current season.

Andy Schleck's bike shop opened in on Friday, which he will run with his father-in-law Jeannot Delvaux in a renovated barn in Itzig, just outside Luxembourg City.

Schleck's shop will stock just three bike brands (his former employers Trek, as well as Cervelo and Focus) and three clothing brands (Craft, Bontrager and Castelli), but the shop will also include a small exhibition space with souvenirs from Schleck's career and a cafe.

The Luxemburger even has plans to open a children's bike school, to encourage young cycling talent, and Schleck is excited about the prospect of finally running his own bike shop, an idea he first revealed last year.

>>> What Andy Schleck did next

"My goal is to share my experience and my bike love with all my clients," Schleck said, quoted in La Meuse. "I will be at the store every day, this is my new full-time job. I look forward to welcoming the first customers."

"We are targeting as many customers as possible," he added, according to La Republicain Lorrain. "We sell both bikes for the children of city bikes, electric bikes, mountain bikes and racing bikes.

"We also offer payment facilities over three years for enthusiasts who want to run high performance bicycles, but can not spend so much money at one time."

>>> Andy Schleck abandons 2014 Tour de France

"There are bikes in all price ranges. The first racing bike is €560 (£436). Conversely, I also have the bike that Frank, my brother, rides currently. His price? €13,000 (£10,100). This is a bike designed to gain enormously in aerodynamics."

The shop even boasts a machine, usually reserved for pros, that analyses riding styles to optimise each bike for its owner.

"The unit is equipped with cameras connected to a computer," Schleck said. "It calculates the best position that corporal angles. We can thus choose and adjust the saddle, handlebars and pedals to get more power in maximum comfort."

Schleck was awarded the 2010 Tour de France when Alberto Contador's results between July 2010 and February 2012 were voided after he tested positive for clenbuterol during the 2010 Tour.

The Luxemburger was forced to retire at the age of 29 in 2014 due to a persistent knee injury, having not won a race in more than three years, with his last victory coming on stage 18 of the 2011 Tour de France, when he famously attacked more than 60km from the finish to win on the Col du Galibier.

“All the years you have people around you who do everything for you,” Andy Schleck tells Cycle Sport. “Someone at the bank, a trainer, nutritionist, a cook, a personal soigneur, a mental coach, a manager, someone to do your laundry. The only thing you have to do is wipe your arse. And of course, train well and ride hard.

“And suddenly everything is gone, and you think, ‘F***, all these people, how did they do that?’ And that’s just the beginning.”

>>> Andy Schleck eases into retirement by opening a bike shop

There was a certain tragedy to Andy Schleck’s retirement in 2014. Before he was out of his 20s, knee damage had brought an abrupt end to his racing days. He has since had to get used to ‘normal’ life. He has put on weight. He can no longer justify being lazy around the house. He’s had to learn to write letters, previously taken care of by an assistant.

"Andy Schleck was my biggest rival" says Alberto Contador

“You don’t recognise your legs any more,” he adds. “There are small things like that which are hard to accept.”

Former professionals often struggle to adjust to life away from cycling, when freedom can easily turn to bewilderment and agoraphobia. The last Luxembourger before Schleck to win the Tour, Charly Gaul, retired at 33 before cutting himself off from his past and spending two decades as a hermit in the woods.

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Next step

Schleck’s next step is as fascinating as it is underwhelming; he is working for his stepfather’s company, which installs heating systems and swimming pools. The goal, he explained, is to prepare himself for his next project, running a bike shop in Itzig, Luxembourg. It is due to open in January 2016. “I’ve been in accounts, computing systems, ordering, stock,” says Schleck, “so I don’t fall in cold water when the bills come and I don’t know what to do with them.”

>>> Tributes paid to Andy Schleck on Twitter following retirement

Schleck’s shop will include a cafe and museum where, alongside his jerseys and bikes will sit his collection of memorabilia: a boxing glove belonging to Muhammad Ali, a guitar from the Rolling Stones, and a Barry Bonds baseball bat. Maybe Schleck likes to put himself amongst the world’s sporting greats. Maybe he’s just keen to share his things with the public.

“Journalists often said I wasn’t aggressive enough towards my rivals to win stuff, saying, ‘You’re not a true campione.’ I was offended. But today I can say yes, maybe the journalists were right, but I have no regrets, I was not that kind of person.”

>>> Andy Schleck: Career in photos

Schleck was an appealing rider because his human qualities were always very easily laid bare. He might have been riding high in the stratosphere of pro cycling, but his near misses, struggles and failures amongst moments of brilliance were a vivid reflection of real life.

His house contains just one reminder of what he used to do: a photo, taken at the finish of stage 18 of the 2011 Tour, where Schleck has his arms aloft towards the misty peaks surrounding the Col du Galibier. It was a ride that cemented his place in cycling history. It should have won him the Tour but, ultimately, it didn’t.

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“My partner insisted that we put the picture of me winning on top of the Galibier in the living room,” he says. “To begin with I was against it. But it’s funny, my little boy, he’s 18 months old, and now he points at the picture and says, ‘Daddy.’

“Next year, people can come and see me in my shop,” he adds. “And if you want, I’ll tell you the story about the Galibier as well!”

It has not taken long for Andy Schleck to figure out what to do in his retirement, with the Luxembourger preparing to launch his own bike shop in his homeland.

The 29-year-old, who won the Tour de France in 2010, will open his store in the town of Itzig and confirmed to paperjam.lu that he will be paying homage to his former employers.

“We will, of course, be selling Trek bikes,” Schleck said. “The store will not only be a lobby with bikes on display.

“We want to give great importance to the service. I want to transfer my skills and my athletic experience to the customer service.”

The younger Schleck brother was forced into early retirement by a persistent knee injury at the end of the 2014 season. He was awarded the 2010 Tour de France after Alberto Contador was stripped of the title in February 2012.

Upon his retirement, he insisted he would not rush into any new ventures, but now plans to open a coffee shop, museum and a cycling school for children alongside his new shop.

Alberto Contador has said that the now retired Andy Schleck was the "biggest rival" of his whole career so far,  placing the Luxembourger in higher esteem than current rival Chris Froome.

Schleck, who quit professional cycling after suffering a bad knee injury in the 2014 Tour de France, finished runner-up to Contador in two editions of the Tour in 2009 and 2010 before subsequently being awarded the latter after the Spaniard had it stripped for doping.

Contador was speaking to Velo Magazine, after winning the prestigious Velo d'Or award for the fourth time, when he paid homage to Schleck, saying that he could have been one of the most talented riders of his generation.

"Andy was my biggest rival, much more so than Froome, who has only arrived in the past two years,” he said.

“I battled the most with him [Schleck], and I spent some very cool moments with him too."

“The most gifted of all? I don’t know but maybe, the problem is that he had a very full life outside of cycling.

"Perhaps he didn’t always have the super-organised, strict life of a bike rider, but he always managed to be on top form for one race in the year. And not just any race, but the Tour. Nobody else knew how to do that.”

The most infamous moment of the Contador/Schleck rivalry happened on the climb up the Port de Bales on stage 15 of the 2010 Tour de France, in what has now known by cycling fans as 'chaingate.'

Carrying the yellow jersey, Schleck began to pull away from Contador but through more or less sheer bad luck, dropped his chain. Contador subsequently attacked Schleck and took the race lead, but says that it's all just part of racing.

“That day I had decided to attack and there was no question of changing my tactics,” he said.

“It went the way it did, he accelerated and then he had this problem. These are situations, circumstances of the race.”

Contador even went as far to say that Schleck had pulled a similar stunt on him earlier in the race, even after the peloton had already held up for Schleck once before in the first week of racing when he and older brother Frank crashed.

“Cancellara calmed everybody down, we waited for them and they came back on.”

“Except the next day on the stage over the cobbles, Frank fell again and I found myself caught behind. Andy was in front with Cancellara and they didn’t wait. On the contrary, they rode flat out to build a gap.”

The current Vuelta a Espana champion had nothing but well wishes for his former rival as he heads into retirement.

"I hope that he enjoys being with his family and his passions outside of cycling, and that he’s happy.”

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2010 Tour de France winner Andy Schleck announced his retirement from cycling on Thursday after failing to recover from a knee injury.

While his form has been somewhat iffy in the last few years, Schleck can boast of a Tour win and victory at Liege-Bastogne-Liege in his career, but a crash at the 2014 Tour has forced him to call time at the age of just 29.

There's been a large outpouring of affection from some of his former colleagues on social media, so here's a few picks of notable riders paying tribute.

Alberto Contador

Contador consistently went head-to-head with Schleck for the top spot at the Tour de France, beating the Luxembourger to the yellow jersey twice in a row in 2009 and 2010 before having the latter stripped for doping and awarded to Schleck.

Jens Voigt

The recently retired Voigt rode on the same teams as Schleck from 2005 right up until his last year as a pro in 2014. The German worked as a domestique for Schleck in his 2010 Tour win, as well as his second place in 2011.

Matthew Busche

Busche rode with Schleck from 2010 onwards and currently rides for Trek Factory Racing .

Frank Schleck

Older brother Frank rode by his brother's side since almost day one of Andy's pro career, and managed to find enough form in 2014 to earn himself a new two year contract with Trek.

Chris Horner

The 2013 Vuelta a Espana champion rode with Schleck between 2011 and 2014.

Fabian Cancellara

Cancellara rode with Schleck for the entirety of the latter's career, and the former World Time Trial Champion was also part of the team that helped Schleck to eventually win the 2010 Tour.

Trek Factory Racing

Schleck's current team paid tribute to a rider that has been with them through their different incarnations since 2011.

Andy Schleck: Career in photos

Pictorial look back at Andy Schleck's career as he announces his retirement from professional cycling

Andy Schleck retires from professional cycling

Andy Schleck announces that he will retire from cycling, citing a persistent knee injury

After a lengthy period of speculation, Andy Schleck announced his retirement from professional cycling on Thursday morning. The Trek Factory Racing rider from Luxembourg drew his a nine-year career to a close.

After turning professional with the CSC team in 2005, Schleck very soon established himself as one of the peloton's most promising riders. In 2006, he was part of CSC's Tour of Britain team and won the mountains classification.

Schleck soon made his mark in Grand Tours by placing second in the 2007 Giro d'Italia behind Danilo Di Luca and winning the best young rider award. He went on to win the best young rider classification of the 2008 Tour de France, the first of three consecutive years he would do so. In 2009, Schleck showed he could take a significant one-day win by attacking solo in Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

In 2010, Schleck finished the Tour in second place behind Alberto Contador, but received the 'win' after Contador tested positive for clenbuterol during the race. Schleck would then place second behind Cadel Evans the following year, taking stage 18 along the way. But that would be the last of his success.

A string of injuries, poor form and crashes meant that 2011 would be the last season to include a victory. A crash during stage three of the 2014 Tour de France to London caused a knee injury that he could not recover from, despite surgery.

His older brother, Frank Schleck will continue with Trek Factory Racing.

Schleck won the mountains classification at the 2006 Tour of Britain

A fresh-faced Schleck with dad and former pro Johny Schleck on stage 13 of the 2007 Giro d'Italia

Schleck climbs on stage 15 of the 2007 Giro d'Italia, where he would finish as runner-up and take the best young rider title

Schleck signs autographs at the 2007 Giro d'Italia

Schleck on Healy Pass, 2007 Tour of Ireland

Schleck (right) poses with Linus Gerdemann, Tom Boonen, Alberto Contador and Thomas Dekker at the Amstel Curacao Race in 2008

Schleck and friend in Curacao, 2008

Descending in the 2009 Tour of California

Schleck (right) and Davide Rebellin in the 2009 edition of Fleche Wallonne. Rebellin would take the victory, with Schleck second

One of Schleck's stand-out victories - a solo attack netted him the win in 2009 Liege-Bastogne-Liege

Andy with brother Frank (right) after stage 17 of the 2009 Tour de France

On stage 20 of the 2009 Tour de France with sparring partner Alberto Contador (left). Lance Armstrong is just behind him

Perhaps Schleck's most convincing performance in any Grand Tour was during the 2010 Tour de France: here he wins stage eight

Schleck and Contador on Ax 3 Domaines during the 2010 Tour de France

Schleck's dropped chain during stage 15 of the 2010 Tour de France initially cost him the race. Rival Contador attacked him on the climb to Port de Balès. However, a positive test for clenbuterol would see Contador banned and Schleck inherited the 2010 Tour win

A bit of revenge: Schleck wins stage 17 of the 2010 Tour de France as Contador looks on...

... or perhaps Contador and Schleck came to an agreement during the stage

Attacking during the 2011 Amstel Gold Race

Time trialling - never Andy Schleck's forte - during the 2011 Tour de Suisse, where he would win the mountains classification

Winning stage 18 of the 2011 Tour de France - perhaps Schleck's last career highpoint

Posing with a snake at the 2012 Tour Down Under. His season would later come to an abrupt end in the Criterium du Dauphine, where he crashed out with a fractured pelvis, missing the 2012 Tour de France

A decidedly unhappy-looking Schleck on stage four of 2013 Tirreno-Adriatico

Riding up Mont Ventoux during the 2013 Tour de France. In March, a French politician alleged to have spotted Schleck drunk in a hotel lift. Schleck dismissed the story, but rumours persisted that perhaps his problems ran deeper than simply physical injury. He finished the race in 20th place

Schleck leads an escape on stage nine of the 2014 Tour de Suisse

On stage two of the 2014 Tour de France in Yorkshire, just a day before crashing out and sustaining the knee injury that would ultimately cause him to retire from the sport

Andy Schleck retires from professional cycling

Andy Schleck announces that he will retire from cycling, citing a persistent knee injury

Andy and Frank Schleck's future uncertain at Trek

Trek Factory Racing rumoured to be looking for new general classification contender

Tour de France 2010 winner Andy Schleck (Trek Factory Racing) confirmed during a press conference on Thursday morning that he will retire from professional cycling.

The 29-year-old from Luxembourg has said that a persistent knee injury has ruled out his continuation at the top-level of the sport, and he retires after nine years as a professional.

"There's been a lot of speculation, now I have to confirm the speculation," said Schleck. "I will not be a cyclist in 2015. It hurts."

"I’m obviously disappointed to end my career like this. I would have liked to keep on fighting but my knee just doesn’t allow it. Since my crash in the UK [the Tour de France stage to London] there has hardly been any progress. While the ligaments have healed, the damaged cartilage is another story. I have been working hard on rehabbing the knee but came to the hard realization that at the risk of irreversibly injuring it, this is the best course of action."

Schleck did not reveal what he would do next, but hinted at staying in the world of cycling.

“Cycling has been my life for many years and I will need time to figure out what I’d like to do. Luckily I can count on my family, friends, and Trek who have always supported me."

"I am very happy to have trained and raced alongside my brother [Frank] and to have made some of the best friends that I have. I have always said that cycling is not the beginning and the end of my life. I have a wonderful girlfriend and a wonderful son. I’m excited to find out what lies ahead.”

Aside from his 2010 Tour de France title, which he 'inherited' when Alberto Contador was stripped of the title for testing positive for clenbuterol, Schleck's other major victories include Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2009 and stage 18 of the 2011 Tour de France.

Since 2011, Schleck has not won a race, suffering from a series of injuries and crashes.

The Schleck brothers' future remains a mystery as team Trek appear to be looking for new general classification captains. The team began around Luxembourg's Andy and Fränk, but with the rumoured signing of Bauke Mollema, their places appear in doubt.

"We have a contract for this year," Fränk Schleck said this morning at the Tour de France. "My first thought is about having a good Tour, that's what I'm focusing on now.

"I live the present. I want to ride for the present, I have a contact today, and that's what I want to focus on."

Fränk Schleck, 34, returned from a doping ban last year and only restarted racing this season. Though once third overall, he began the 2014 Tour thinking about stage wins and not the classification. He placed 16th in the stage to La Planche des Belles Filles.

Andy Schleck, 29, inherited the 2010 Tour title after Alberto Contador was stripped of it, but began this year's race simply to rebuild himself. He has been struggling since he crashed and fractured his sacrum in the 2012 Critérium du Dauphiné. Falling on his knee, and subsequently abandoning in stage four, will not help his comeback.

"Of course, it's going to be hard for him. It's going to be tough," said Fränk, who talks to his brother daily. "His knee is OK, it's good, but he has to be patient and see how fast recover."

Andy Schleck underwent surgery for 2.5 hours to correct his right knee. "Besides the ligaments and the meniscus," said Team Doctor Andreas Gösele, "we can also confirm that the cartilage behind the knee cap is damaged, which is the worst and most painful part of Andy's injury."

It appears that Andy and Fränk may have to leave the team they helped begin in 2011. They are both off their best and Trek is looking elsewhere for leaders, like Mollema who sits eighth overall in the Tour.

"It's so difficult now with WorldTour points," said their dad, Johny Schleck. "It's not so good. Andy hasn't raced, Fränk has had one problem after another.

"I don't think they'll go to a second division team. If they had to do that, then I think that it'd be better that they stop. It'd be too long a road back to a first division team if they did that."

Johny Schleck explained that both brothers want to continue through the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Andy perhaps longer. Trek may try to keep Fränk instead of both brothers but that could be a problem as they have said before that they would never race on separate teams.

The doubt only highlights that they no longer hold the same importance in the team and that weight is shifting towards new talents like Mollema for 2015

Andy Schleck abandons Tour de France

Trek Factory Rider Andy Schleck suffering with knee injury after stage three crash, and quits Tour de France

Andy and Frank Schleck selected for Tour de France

Andy Schleck has abandoned the 2014 Tour de France, suffering with injuries sustained as a result of a crash during stage three to London on Monday.

Schleck's Trek Factory Racing team announced via Twitter that the Luxembourg rider had withdrawn from the race, and would not start stage four in France:

"We are sad to announce that Andy Schleck cannot take the start in @letour today. The ligaments and meniscus in the right knee are too severely damaged from his crash in yesterday's final. He will travel to Basel now for examination and a possible operation."

Schleck appeared to have been caught in a collision with a spectator standing in the road taking a photo of the race.

Schleck lost one minute and 19 seconds on stage winner Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) at the end of stage two to Sheffield, and ended the follow day's stage in 56th place at 2'24" after losing further time due to the crash.

His brother Frank is faring better, in 44th place and 1'21" behind Nibali.

The performance of both Schleck brothers is a far cry from 2011, when Andy and Frank placed second and third overall respectively behind winner Cadel Evans. Andy was awarded the 2010 Tour win after Alberto Contador was stripped of the result after testing positive for clenbuterol during the race.

Andy Schleck's departure is the third withdrawal from the race after Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and Sacha Modolo (Lampre-Merida).

Andy and Frank Schleck selected for Tour de France

Joaquím Rodríguez and Andy Schleck are among those suffering from crashes in the Amstel Gold Race. Rodriguez confirmed he will start in the Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday but could suffer on the closing Mur de Huy climb.

"Our osteopath treated me very well, that's why I decided to do this [two-hour ride] test," said team Katusha's captain. "The first 30 minutes were very painful, but afterwards it went better. The major problem remains the efforts on the climbs."

The Spaniard won Flèche Wallonne in 2012. The race ends with a steep climb up 'the wall' of Huy, a small road that kicks up to 26 per cent in some sections.

"I am a bit afraid of the Mur de Huy, but we will see," Rodríguez added.

"On the one hand, I feel it as an obligation towards my team-mate and last year's winner Dani Moreno, to support him. On the other hand, I feel that I need this race to be at top level in Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday."

Rodríguez said that he lowered his ambitions in the race. He crashed about 80 kilometres into Sunday's 251.4-kilometre race with 2010 Tour de France winner Andy Schleck.

Schleck is searching for his top form after fracturing his pelvis in a crash at the 2012 Critérium du Dauphiné. In the Amstel Gold Race, he hurt his knee.

"I did the work I had to do to start the classics on good form. I hope to show it in Flèche Wallonne and in Liège but I have doubts," Schleck told Luxemburger newspaper Wort.lu. "Our Trek Factory Racing Team has competent people so I hope that we manage to resolve this problem."

Unlike Rodríguez, Schleck continued the race. The 28-year-old Luxemburger abandoned 40 kilometres later, however.

Schleck hoped to lead the Trek team in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which he won in 2010. Schleck is still due to start Flèche and Liège, but the attention will now likely turn to his brother Fränk.

Sky's Geraint Thomas survived the cobbled classics but crashed in the Amstel Gold Race. He wrote on Twitter, “Someone decided he wanted a wee and just turned 90 degrees right, nowhere to go, apart from the deck.”

Andy Schleck is accustomed to entering the Tour de France as a yellow jersey favourite but is now in uncharted waters and has been forced to adopt a new mindset ahead of the 100th edition of the race.

The 28-year-old is on the comeback from a dramatic slump in form following a crash at the 2012 Criterium du Dauphine in which he fractured his pelvis. The injury prevented Schleck from competing at the Tour last year where his brother, Frank, tested positive, compounding his woes.

The three-time Tour stage winner is yet to record a victory this season but has taken confidence from his recent performance at the Tour de Suisse that preceded a 10th place finish at the Luxembourg national road championships on Sunday. He told journalists in Porto-Vecchio yesterday that he won't truly be able to gauge his shape until the first mountain stages.

"I've never had problems in cycling. I rode my bike, I trained and I was good. That's it. If I ate a burger the day before a mountain stage I ate a burger and I was still up in front. Of course I didn't, but it never made a difference! That was the kind of rider I was," said Schleck.

"Now, I've got to pay attention to really small details to come back to that level.

"I don't consider myself as a favourite to win this year's edition of the Tour de France. Maybe you can say an outsider and then I'll see what I can do with that," he continued.

"The level of the general peloton, I believe, has risen."

The Tour begins in Corsica tomorrow and the island will host the first three stages that Schleck has extensively reconnoitered along with the stage 17 time-trial plus all key mountains.

The Luxembourger was yesterday critical of the "queen stage" and called for race organisers to review the descent that follows the first pass of the Alpe d'Huez .

The peloton will ascend Alpe d'Huez twice during the 172.5km 18th stage, which finishes on the famed hors categorie summit.

"It's one I really like, it will of course be the queen stage of this Tour de France," he said. "But what I don't like is the downhill. It's a very, very dangerous one. We went to see it one week after the Dauphine and there were other riders there and they were also critical.

"If we have for example a puncture or you miss the road you will crash and fall down, but not just a few metres. It could be 50 or perhaps even 300m. I hope the organisation finds a solution for that and if not there is still time before we reach that stage to do it."

Schleck's RadioShack-Leopard team is also aiming for stage wins via breakaways throughout the Tour. Sports director Kim Andersen, who is close to Schleck, returns to France after being sidelined last season with Johan Bruyneel instead calling shots.

The team has secured its future ahead of the 2014 season with Trek to assume ownership from next year.

Twitter: @SophieSmith86

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ANDY SCHLECK

Date of birth: 10/06/1985

From: Luxembourg

Team: Retired

Previous teams: Team CSC (2005 - 2008), Team Saxo Bank (2009 - 2010), Leopard-Trek (2011), RadioShack-Nissan (2012-13); Trek Factory Racing (2014)

Andy Schleck career profile

Andy Schleck has only been a professional since 2005 but is already considered a potential Tour de France winner after finishing second in the 2007 Giro d'Italia and winning the best young rider's white jersey at the 2008 Tour de France.

Schleck rode for CSC as a stagiaire at the end of the 2004 season when just 19 but immediately impressed team manager Bjarne Riis and was quickly given a place in the team alongside his older brother Frank. He only won the Luxembourg national time trial title in his first full season but stood out from his peers for his maturity and talent. In 2006 he won two stages in the Sachsen Tour and the climber's jersey in the Tour of Britain.

He impressed at the 2007 CSC training camp in California, beating his brother in a final test on a climb, and was given a full racing programme that included the Giro d'Italia. He cleverly rode a conservative race; letting the Italians fight it out, but was consistently strong in the mountains and moved passed Eddy Mazzoleni in the final time trial to finish 1-55 behind winner Danilo Di Luca. He also won the white jersey as best young rider.

In 2008 Schleck finished fourth at Liege-Bastogne-Liege after sacrificing his chances to help his brother in the finale of the race. He prepared for the Tour de France by riding the Tour de Suisse, finishing sixth overall.

Andy also sacrificed his own chances to help Frank in the overall standings in the 2008 Tour de France and celebrated when Frank pulled on the yellow jersey after the stage to Prato Nevoso in Italy. Later in the race, while Frank struggled in the Alps and lost the jersey to team mate Carlos Sastre, Andy continued to ride strongly and proved he has the necessary recovery to be a contender in Tour de France. He also took the white jersey from Italy's Vincenzo Nibali.

Schleck used his Tour de France form to finish fifth in the Olympic road race in Beijing. He was in the decisive breakaway but his poor sprinting left him without a medal.

After the departure of Carlos Sastre from the CSC/Saxo Bank squad to Cervelo, Schleck and brother Frank became joint team leaders for the 2009 Tour. Schleck finished second behind Alberto Contador at the 2009 Tour, establishing himself as one of the world's leading climbers.

A year later he was involved in one of the most controversial Tours to date, dramatically losing the race lead when he dropped his chain while attacking Alberto Contador. The Spaniard won in Paris, but tested positive for clenbuterol and subsequently lost the race title due to a back-dated suspension. Schleck duly inherited the 2010 Tour title.

Schleck's final victory was stage 18 of the 2011 Tour de France and second place overall behind Cadel Evans, which was followed by three years troubled by injury and indifferent form. He announced his retirement from the sport in October 2014.

Andy Schleck results
2011
Tour de Suisse; mountains classification
Tour de France; stage 18

2010

National time trial championships

Tour de France; stage eight

Tour de France; stage 17

Tour de France; overall (Contador's win annulled due to doping ban)

2009

Tour de France; young riders' classification

Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Tour of Luxembourg; stage two

National road race championships

2008

Tour de France; young riders' classification

2007

Giro d'Italia; best young rider

2006

Sachsen Tour; stage three

Sachsen Tour; stage five

2005

Luxembourg national time trial champion

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