Contador has been given a retrospective two-year suspension and was stripped of his 2010 Tour title after the Court of Arbitration for Sport passed a ruling on his long-running doping case on Monday.

With the Spaniard, who tested positive for clenbuterol during the race, now disqualified, second-place Schleck is set to be promoted into top spot.

But the Luxembourger says he believed Contador was innocent and will not consider himself a true winner of the Tour until he does it out on the road.

"There is no reason to be happy now," the 26-year-old said.

"First of all I feel sad for Alberto. I always believed in his innocence. This is just a very sad day for cycling.

"The only positive news is that there is a verdict after 566 days of uncertainty. We can finally move on. I trust that the CAS judges took all things into consideration after reading a 4,000-page file.

Lost

"My goal is to win the Tour de France in a sporting way, being the best of all competitors, not in court."
Andy Schleck Quotes of the week

"If now I am declared overall winner of the 2010 Tour de France it will not make me happy. I battled with Contador in that race and I lost.

"My goal is to win the Tour de France in a sporting way, being the best of all competitors, not in court. If I succeed this year, I will consider it as my first Tour victory."

Contador has also been disqualified from the 2011 Giro d'Italia, a race he won by over six minutes, with that victory now due to be inherited by Michele Scarponi.

Scarponi said: "Together with my team, Lampre-ISD, I acknowledge the decision by the CAS in the Contador case.

"I'm very sorry for Alberto. This decision doesn't change the value of the results I obtained and my upcoming goals."

Cycling legend Eddy Merckx was also saddened by the news of the suspension, pointing out that Contador only had trace levels of the banned substance in his system.

"I am disgusted. I would like other sports to go and try to find minute traces of clenbuterol. It's another huge blow to cycling," Merckx said.