Bjarne Riis is heading towards a humiliating exit from international cycling. It could be the case after Tinkoff-Saxo team owner Oleg Tinkov has suspended the Dane due to poor results, according to a report in Danish newspaper BT.

The dramatic turnaround could already be sensed at Milan-Sanremo where Bjarne Riis was not present. According to the Danish newspaper, the Dane was put on the sideline just before the Italian classic. He was previously the owner of the team which Tinkov bought in December 2013.

Not even the riders have got an explanation as to why Bjarne Riis was not present at what should have been a milestone in the early part of the season. Peter Sagan could only manage fourth in the first monument of the year.

According to BT, the riders got the information on Monday morning in an e-mail from CEO Stefano Feltrin who announced that Riis was officially "suspended". No one has been able to shed light on what that means.

The news is the culmination after the drama that appeared during Tirreno-Adriatico where it was clear that Tinkov was disappointed with the result.

"Which consequences this will have, nobody knows at the moment. And I have no further comment," a source from the team told BT.

Feltrin also refused to comment.

"Where have you heard that? You have to talk to Bjarne Riis or Oleg Tinkov about that. I can not comment on this kind of rumors," declared Feltrin.

Neither Bjarne Riis nor Oleg Tinkov were available for comment.

However, it has been clear that the Russian and Riis have been close to collision for some time. The French sports newspaper L'Equipe recently revealed how Oleg Tinkov during Tirreno-Adriatico had demanded Dutch sports director Steven de Jongh to be demoted because the Spanish captain and superstar Alberto Contador was unable to follow Nairo Quintana on the queen stage. It is reported to have resulted in a big discussion between Riis and Tinkov.

The culmination has now come as Riis is now held accountable for a poor results sheet that has only allowed the team to take two wins in the first part of the season.