Andy Schleck: ‘Alberto Contador did something he shouldn’t have done, even if he denies it’

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."