Winner of the 2010 Tour de France Andy Schleck has called being retrospectively awarded the yellow jersey following Alberto Contador's doping positive 'bulls**t'.
In a television documentary with Sporza in Belgium, the now-retired rider admitted that it took him a long time to accept the circumstances of his Tour victory and that 'Alberto did something he shouldn’t have done even if he denies it still.'
Schleck finished the 2010 Tour second, 39 seconds back on the initial winner Contador, but was eventually awarded the title in 2012 after Contador was retrospectively sanctioned for a failed drug test that showed a positive finding for anabolic steroid clenbuterol.
Contador has always denied the findings, blaming the doping positive on the ingestion of contaminated meat.
Schleck also pointed to his second place finish at the Giro d'Italia as another moment in which doping may have robbed him of a major career victory.
'I can say today I didn’t win the Giro because Danilo Di Luca was doping, which is true in one way,' said Schleck, who finished second to Di Luca at the 2007 race.
'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.'
In the same documentary, Scheck criticised the way doping cheats are regarded in the sport suggesting that they are often allowed to 'play the victim'.
'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,' said Schleck.
'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.'
One of the most promising riders of his generation, Schleck was forced into early retirement at the age of 29 in 2014 after battling with a persistant knee injury.
Before then, the Luxemburger had managed to win the Tour and Liege-Bastogne-Liege alongside three further Grand Tour podiums.
Andy also rode for most of his career with older brother Frank, a fellow Tour de France podium finisher but a rider who served a 12-month ban for controlled substance Xipamide at the 2012 Tour de France.
Andy's career also saw him partner with former US Postal team director Johan Bruyneel, briefly, at the RadioShack-Nissan team in 2012 following the merger of Leopard-Trek and RadioShack.
Schleck was asked whether his own stringent anti-doping stance conflicted the approach of Bruyneel, who helped oversee Lance Armstrong's seven Tour de France wins.
He claimed the pair never had a conversation around doping but defended the now-banned team director during their time together.
'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".'