Hamburg - Luxembourg cyclist Franck Schleck was immediately suspended by his CSC Saxo Bank team Friday following his admission that he paid 7,000 euros (9,740 dollars) to Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, the man at the centre of the Operacion Puerto blood-doping ring. "His behaviour was irresponsible both for himself and the team," said CSC team boss Bjarne Riis.
Schleck admitted he made the payment in March 2006 but denied ever taking banned substances or using illegal methods, something he also said when questioned by the Luxembourg anti-doping agency ALAD on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old, who held the leader's yellow jersey for three stages of this year's Tour de France, said that the money was used for "training advice from experts who were probably working with the biggest names in the sport" and that he had never personally met Fuentes.
"We want to express our sincere hope that Franck comes out of this situation in a position that is acceptable from himself and the team," said Riis, who last year admitted to having used doping substances when he won the Tour in 1996 as a Team Telekom rider.
Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) reported last weekend that Schleck sent money to Fuentes in 2006, saying that Luxembourg authorities now had a copy of the bank transfer slip.
Schleck hopes to use DNA analysis to at least show that none of the 100 blood bags seized by Spanish police during Operacion Puerto at Fuentes' laboratory in May 2006 belonged to him.
Last Saturday, a police raid was carried out in the hotel of the Luxembourg team at the cycling world championships led by Schleck in Varese, Italy.
Schleck's lawyer Albert Rodesch said he was confident that the new tests for the blood-booster EPO being carried out on 10 blood samples taken from competitors at this year's Tour at the French laboratory in Chatenay-Malabry would prove the rider's innocence.
