Andy Schleck Discussion thread.

[shades1]

well we are now moving into the biggest 2 weeks of andys life (and frank) , andys performance in these coming weeks is massive for his future , obviously he wants to be reunited with his brother again next season but as recent posters have pointed out it is very hard to see a team with much interest as things stand right now , the only way this can change is if he can pull out a couple of big performances to prove his worth again .

these are worrying times for the brothers and i just hope andy is fully aware of the consequences of what a non-performance here is going to have on his and franks future , i really cannot see him staying at RSLT , he does not even follow his own team on twitter for christ sake .

personally what i would love to see happen is andy to pull out a stage win and grind out a top 10 finish , this would show massive progression for future GTs . im pretty sure that would be enough to secure a deal somewhere for both of them .

then it comes down to what team would come in for them , well we know the list is probably small , my personal opinion is that OPQS would be a brilliant move . it would certainly help the brothers improve into better all round cyclists , descending and TTs would improve drastically . and in turn this would give OPQS a pair of genuine contenders for GTs which is something they do not have . with the success of cav the spirit in the team is fantastic and if you was to add a couple of world class climbers to the mix that are more than happy to work as a unit in the mountains has to be a big asset to the team . i do not anticipate this would disrupt anything for cav , he will still have the spine of the team behind him while andy and frank go to war with skyborg .

with very little other options available i just see this as the dream move , whether it could happen or not is another thing .

you got 2 weeks andy , go out there and do it !!

 

[Boeing]

Just read the front page. I think the two brothers will be dressed green next year. **** Trek long live another US brand

Cannondale? interesting idea actually

 

[Marco Pantani]

Are people serioius that the two broters will struggle find a new team?
What a joke. So far it's not even ruled out to stay with trek.

 

[saneguy]

WTF??? I take it you weren't around for the tours before Big Mig.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7W28vwJ_WU

The above from 1987 didn't take all the climbers out of contention. Ironically, most were in contention until the Ventoux TT.

Yes I have got into cycling a little late but from what I have been seeing so far... I'd prefer TTs like Stage 8 at the Giro this year...a technical TT. Wiggins topped amongst the GC contenders but the other guys didnt lose a chunk of time.. What I am trying to say is that if Froome or any other GC contender makes up 1-2 mins in the TT then its not fun...has to be close else it will lose all charm for the entire race. Lets see what happens at Stage 11.

On the two brother not finding a team - I think its far too exaggerated of them not finding a team to race. They need to simply drop their salaries and am sure many teams would want them on their rosters. Strongly feel some team would surely hire them soon enough if not Trek.

 

[airstream]

High time to escape the shadow for the Legend. Go Andy!

 

[nick101]

I don't think the reason why Trek won't sign Frank is because of his salary. It's almost certainly due to his doping ban. I can see two possible options for the Schlecks: either stay at Trek or move. What happens almost certainly depends on Andy's result at the TDF. If he want's his "champions" salary then he will have to get at least top ten and a stage win which would go some way to proving that he's back. If he does poorly he will have to accept that his brother won't be on the same team and lower his salary. The brothers are a package essentially - to get one you have to have both. Imo it's silly and andy should just stay at Trek, but the atmosphere there is becoming almost hostile to him. Another mention is montfort who is coming off contract and I can see him almost certainly following andy if he does decide to move

As for possible teams - Garmin stands out well Imo because it doesn't have a clear leader - Hesjadel, Martin, Vande Velde have all been relatively inconsistent in their careers, plus the brothers used to ride cervelo which is an added incentive. Riders like Dennis and Talansky will be superb domestiques and by the time andy's time is up they'll be at their best.

I can't see OPQS as plausible if Uran is moving there like everyone says. The 'kitchen' is already pretty crowded there with Cav, Boonen, Martin and other big names so it'd be overflowing if Uran moves there.

Cannondale is unlikely; I can't see how that'd work especially the language barrier, limited climbing domestiques and Sagan will want most of the team (flat domestiques) working for him.
The only other possibilites would be Orica (limited mountain domestiques but superb TT flat domestiques which the brothers need. Possibly bring in Montfort and two or three other climbers and there's a great GC team), Belkin - possibly due to inconsistent team leaders (that could change if Mollema performs well), Lotto - another possibility but VDB is there and almost half the team is dedicated to griepel.

 

[webbie146]

I will be cheering for Andy today, I really hope he can get a nice result.

GO ANDY GO

 

[Gugashwill]

A hope we'll see today where Andy has placed his bet.

 

[SeriousSam]

so has he been dropped yet? must be any minute now

 

[saneguy]

Not yet....still in the front group...

 

[forkboy84]

so has he been dropped yet? must be any minute now

Nope, most of his team mates have gone, like Kloden, but Andy was still there at the top of the climb. See how he does on the descent though.

 

[saneguy]

From what I could see - Andy is still there in the big group along with Zubeldia.

 

[Gugashwill]

I suppose this means on Ventoux and double d'Huez.

 

[saneguy]

Down 3.33 I think.

 

[hrotha]

That was better than expected. If he can suffer through this Tour AND the Vuelta, he might be back at his level in 2014.

 

[Alpechraxler]

And Team BMC seems to search 2 captains too

 

[Afrank]

Pretty good ride overall by him today I'd say. I wasn't expecting much and was prepared for him to be dropped earlier than he was. So I think he did pretty well today.

 

[masking_agent]

i would love to see Andy go to Garmin next year, or BMC (as their tour is a disaster now) as they are so in need of a GT contender. I just don't know if Vaughters will allow for both Schlecks and if the Och will allow for it ?

 

[Dazed and Confused]

I had expected a little better result from Andy today, i.e in the +2 minute area.

The question is what now? Tank a stage and get into a break later or hope form gets better while others ahead of him drops off?

 

[Pricey_sky]

If you'd have said to him that he would have beaten Pinot, Rolland and Evans today then he would definitely have taken that. Unfortunately those 3 didn't shine but Andy can be reasonably happy with his ride today. He didn't just fold he carried on fighting and its another little positive step.

 

[Gugashwill]

So, around four minutes down in the GC.
Double that after the first time trial, and he'll be free to go on Ventoux and in the Alps.
Top 10 very questionable.

 

[Taxus4a]

The Quintana attack did very hard this stage, so it was a dangerous day for Andy. He was acceptable, it could be better, but it ok, now he cant win the Tour (I had still some hopes) but the podium is possible, he will be strong in the Alps.

 

[SiAp1984]

Good job by Andy today. He will be back next year as one of the serious contenders. Looking forward to it.

 

[Forunculo]

Decent ride today but his real test is recovery and 3 weeks efforts. Two whole years since the last time he did it it's a lot

 

[Christian]

I am quite satisfied with what he showed today, I think it was on the optimistic end of what one realistically could expect. My prognosis in another thread had been for him to finish in the top-30 at the end. Today he finished 21st, so that makes me hopeful. He also believes his form will continue to improve.

This was a first test that he passed well, but I am with Forunculo when he says another important factor is the recovery. We'll see how he will cope in the third week. Recovery is one of his strengths, but he lacks the practice.