According to a report from Danish new outlet BT, Bjarne Riis has been suspended by Oleg Tinkov as team manager of the Tinkoff-Saxo team.
According to L’Equipe, Tinkov was highly critical of Riis over the team’s performance at last week’s Tirreno-Adriatico, where Contador finished in fifth place. Also, over the weekend, he sent a scathing tweet about one of the team’s cyclists Matti Breschel, who he called ‘ridiculously stupid,’ after Milan-San Remo.
Riis had sold his stake in the team to Tinkov at the end of 2013, and the team switched its registration from Denmark to Russia. Riis has been linked to an ongoing investigation by Anti-Doping Denmark. The Dane had previously admitted to taking PEDs during his own career.
It’s unclear whether Riis’ suspension is due to the ongoing investigation, or whether it’s because of the team’s performances.
