HIGHS & LOWS

It’s a simple question: what did Andy Schleck want out of the 2010 Vuelta a España, the race he was sent home from after being seen out in a bar one evening? “Well, obviously a good night,” he smiles, trying to restrain a laugh. “We went out – it’s quite clear.” How many beers did they have? “I stopped counting after two,” he chuckles.

Schleck, who just weeks earlier had finished second at the Tour de France, was sent home from the race by his Saxo Bank team boss Bjarne Riis, alongside his right-hand man, Stuart O’Grady.

“We had a rest day, so eight riders who had agreed to sign for Leopard-Trek [in 2011] arranged to go out,” Schleck resumes the story. “It was a nice summer’s evening and we sat on a terrace. You have a cerveza with some jamón, and then you say, ‘Ah, f**k it, let’s go there.’ You meet more people, more riders, some journalists, and it was a fun night out. We didn’t party until 5am, but we went out, had