The future of former Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis as manager of the Tinkoff-Saxo team "plunged into uncertainty on Tuesday," with the team announcing that he was no longer "actively involved" in team activities, according to Philip O'Connor of REUTERS. Amid media reports of the "possible suspension or sacking of Riis, the team released a statement on Tuesday saying that the 50-year-old Dane has not been involved in the running of the team since Sunday." Danish newspaper BT had "originally reported that Riis had been suspended over recent poor results," leading to a "storm of speculation" that the 1996 Tour de France winner was to be replaced as team boss (REUTERS, 3/24). VELO NEWS' Andrew Hood reported rumors were "flying Monday that the controversial Dane was removed from his role" by Russian Owner Oleg Tinkov. There have been reports that Tinkov was "pressing Riis for more
victories, and the pair reportedly had a row during Tirreno-Adriatico
last week," according to French sports daily L'Equipe, which "also reported that Riis returned to home in Lugano, Switzerland over the weekend." Team officials contacted on Monday did not
comment, nor was GM & CEO Stefano Feltrin "available for comment." Tinkoff-Saxo riders
"seemed to be in the dark as well, and the news could be little more than
a rumor, but the lack of reaction from team officials in light of media
reports only served to fuel speculation" (VELO NEWS, 3/23).
