Andy Schleck Discussion thread.

[SeriousSam]

Good to see this legendary Tour and Monument winner still being talked about

 

[Ricco']

Re:

Berto and the boys gave him a signed jersey

Second jersey that Berto gives to Andy. He really must be a nice guy.

EDIT: Btw, miss Andy.

Back in the good old days I supported Andy (although I didn't like Fränk very much) and for that I disliked Alberto, but in perspective the Schleck/Conti rivalry was much more enjoyable than the Froome vs. Quintana, Froome vs. Conti or Quintana vs. Conti ones).

And now, 7 years later, I'm rooting for a Contador win, how things change.

 

[Red Rick]

I rooted for Schleck, I just rooted harder for Contador back in the day.

Can you believe that guy is younger than both Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome?

 

[SeriousSam]

Re: Re:

One reason the Schleck v Contador rivalry was good is that it was an actual rivalry between riders reasonably close in ability, not one rider annihilating the other every July.

 

[lenric]

Re:

I rooted for Schleck, I just rooted harder for Contador back in the day.

Can you believe that guy is younger than both Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome?

Froome's only around a month older.

 

[saneguy]

Oh Andy! Could have done so much more. I agree the Andy vs Alberto rivalry was far better than the current lot. Froome to me is just unlikeable!

Miss you Andy!

 

[No_Balls]

Re:

Great to see Andy looking healthy and enjoying himself. I dont think he regrets himself seeing how much it took of him to reach and stay on top. You can have all the talents you want (and AS had the talent of a great) but if the work ethic isnt there it simply isnt.

 

[jsem94]

Andy is younger than Froome. Let that sink in....

What a talent he was. He looks great, enjoying life it seems. Really a sad turn of events what happened to his career, he would have been great to have in the current peloton.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

As much as I'd like to think Contador and Schleck get along, getting a signed jersey from the guy who's ban got you your Tour is bound to be weird and unnecessary.

From 2 interviews yesterday it sounds like Andy is still bitter - again rambling about the 2010 TDF being rightfully his (almost as if he needs to convince himself?) and mentioning a bunch of GC contenders when discussing their chances but not a peep about Contador, I doubt he'd forget about him especially after meeting him the night before - Berto doesn't hold grudges though

Funnily enough in recent years I've gotten the impression Frank is much more friendly towards Contador. I saw some pics of the two of them at the start yesterday.

 

[The Hitch]

Re:

Andy is younger than Froome. Let that sink in....

Davide Rebellin and Chris Horner were born 1 year after Fabio Casartelli.

I think these kind of outliers have more to do with the ridiculousness of the older riders late peak though

 

[lartiste]

Re: Re:

I deleted a bunch of off topic posts. Stopping that would be much appreciated. Otherwise I'll have to do more than deleting posts

Yeah, sorry. Shouldn't have responded to the initial post.

It's possibly been mentioned before, but I think Andy is a prime example of how talent isn't always enough. You need to work as well, and I think I've heard several people - himself included - say that hard Work wasn't exactly his strongest side.
Back during the Saxo Days Danish TV asked all the riders on that year's Tour team who the laziest rider was, guess who everyone pointed at... though he claimed that he was just relaxed.

In my opinion, Andy started to fade away when he left Saxo. I assume, that at the end of the day Riis was one of key elements regarding his success.

 

[shalgo]

Re: Re:

Andy is younger than Froome. Let that sink in....

Davide Rebellin and Chris Horner were born 1 year after Fabio Casartelli.

I think these kind of outliers have more to do with the ridiculousness of the older riders late peak though

Horner and Rebellin were both born three years before Frank Vandenbroucke.

On another note: Andy was the forum's favorite punching bag for several years leading up to his retirement. Andy's last race was the TDF in the summer of 2014. That was the same summer that Betancur gained all of that weight and became the forum's new favorite punching-bag. Now that Betancur seems like he is a responsible professional again, I wonder who the next forum obsession will be?

 

[Beech Mtn]

Re: Re:

As much as I'd like to think Contador and Schleck get along, getting a signed jersey from the guy who's ban got you your Tour is bound to be weird and unnecessary.

From 2 interviews yesterday it sounds like Andy is still bitter - again rambling about the 2010 TDF being rightfully his (almost as if he needs to convince himself?) and mentioning a bunch of GC contenders when discussing their chances but not a peep about Contador, I doubt he'd forget about him especially after meeting him the night before - Berto doesn't hold grudges though

Funnily enough in recent years I've gotten the impression Frank is much more friendly towards Contador. I saw some pics of the two of them at the start yesterday.

Andy was on NBCSN today, and they asked him about Contador's chances in the Tour. Andy basically said he couldn't compete for the win, possibly maybe a chance at the podium. Said AC was a champion and he didn't want to disrespect him, but that he can't go into the red too much anymore (said some stuff that sounded like AC was basically past his prime, although he didn't come right out and say that, more implied it).

They asked Andy if anybody could challenge Sky for the win, and he said no. Then they asked what he thought about the direction of cycling with Sky being so dominant these last few years, and Andy said cycling was going in a good direction. He did say the Giro was the most interesting race this year.

 

[Walkman]

Re: Re:

As much as I'd like to think Contador and Schleck get along, getting a signed jersey from the guy who's ban got you your Tour is bound to be weird and unnecessary.

From 2 interviews yesterday it sounds like Andy is still bitter - again rambling about the 2010 TDF being rightfully his (almost as if he needs to convince himself?) and mentioning a bunch of GC contenders when discussing their chances but not a peep about Contador, I doubt he'd forget about him especially after meeting him the night before - Berto doesn't hold grudges though

Funnily enough in recent years I've gotten the impression Frank is much more friendly towards Contador. I saw some pics of the two of them at the start yesterday.

In all fairness, Contador is clearly past it. I honestly don't think he makes top 5.

 

[Red Rick]

Looks like Andy will feature a few times on Armstrong's The Move podcast this Tour de France. He was in for the stage 1 pod already.

 

[ice&fire]

Looks like Andy will feature a few times on Armstrong's The Move podcast this Tour de France. He was in for the stage 1 pod already.

Did he complain of wet descents?

 

[Red Rick]

Did he complain of wet descents?

I'm at the part where he calls 19C not really cold so he's already exceeding my expectations.

It also looks like there's twice as much Andy Schleck as there used to be.

 

[topcat]

I'm at the part where he calls 19C not really cold so he's already exceeding my expectations.

It also looks like there's twice as much Andy Schleck as there used to be.

Andy used to complain of descents of the downhill variety. They should be done away with. It was a sin to have a mountain stage with the finish on a descent. I used to cheer for him against Contador.

 

[laarsland]

His contribution to the podcast wasn’t very insightful at all.

 

[webvan]

So what was Dopestrong's big scoop on riders falling like cannon fodder... apart from the accumulation of crap?

 

[perico]

I'm at the part where he calls 19C not really cold so he's already exceeding my expectations.

It also looks like there's twice as much Andy Schleck as there used to be.

He’s packed em on since hanging the wheels up

 

[movingtarget]

Have to admit I liked Andy's interviews more than his riding. Both of the brothers seemed like good guys off the bike. The days of the Evans, Contador, Schleck battles were pretty heated especially on the forum ! But good fun at the time.

 

[Leinster]

He’s packed em on since hanging the wheels up

He spent his whole career looking like he'd skipped breakfast, so not surprising if he caught up a bit in his retirement.

 

[Red Rick]

He spent his whole career looking like he'd skipped breakfast, so not surprising if he caught up a bit in his retirement.

Lol. I actually think he also simply has a face that easily looks like he's ballooned up.

 

[Leinster]

Lol. I actually think he also simply has a face that easily looks like he's ballooned up.

I think just given the nature of the sport, it's very rare to see a pro that doesn't get bigger after retirement. And the ones who don't are a particular type of obsessive, Hinault, Kelly, Armstrong. Froome at 40 will still be a stick insect, but Geraint is gonna look like the Michelin man.