Andy Schleck Discussion thread.

[VanBsr]

Trek Factory Racing ‏@TrekFactory 49 min.
After brave effort today #TFR confirms @andy_schleck unable to start Romandie due to knee injury sustained in Amstel crash.

 

[Jelantik]

Trek Factory Racing ‏@TrekFactory 49 min.
After brave effort today #TFR confirms @andy_schleck unable to start Romandie due to knee injury sustained in Amstel crash.

arrrrgghhh... Ardennes is his major goal. Nada. Hoping to see him Romandie? nope. Maybe TOC or Luxemburg?

 

[Dazed and Confused]

This was definitely not part of the plan. Frank was close to where he needed to be.

Now we have to wait for TdS.

 

[Walkman]

Tough day for Andy. He got injured again. But so far even before injury he hasn't shown any spark. Looks like crunch time for Trek. Andy's contract is end this year. Are they going to keep the faith for Andy' as the leader or they started to groom Arendondo and Jungles to be the leader and sign andy as just as a rider and not a leader. (maybe the pressure off will help him perform better) Dunno maybe sky is interested in signing him

Gilbert and Evans has gone through similar season (not injury but bad season). But they managed the win here and there and showed some bright sparks. Even his bro is back ahead of him now. Since 2011 injury, Andy hasn't gotten any spark to show other than a string of DNF. Gosh, I can't imagine to be in Andy's shoe. Things used to come so easy for him (even he got a lot of saying on the team on how, what and who he wanted. Thing seems to start to go down hill since he left Bjarne hanging dry. Karma probably? dunno). Now he is in very difficult place that he has never experienced before.

You know there's a saying a great champion will show why they are champion by conquering their difficulties and adversity (ex: Contador, Evans). Andy's difficult time now is a test of andy's character. Is he really 'a real champion'? (We know Contador is). Time will tell. ...

Coming back from a ban is labeled as "conquering ones difficulties"?

Hardly what I would call it.

 

[Jelantik]

Coming back from a ban is labeled as "conquering ones difficulties"?

Hardly what I would call it.

Yes it is. Difficult times it's not only about physically, but mentally as well. How many of us discounted Contador as being old and should just retire last year? He overcomed that at least with his first half of his season this year. Andy only got physical issue, but so many rider has came back for injury. And don't forget on June it will be 3 years for andy.

 

[Escarabajo]

Yes it is. Difficult times it's not only about physically, but mentally as well. How many of us discounted Contador as being old and should just retire last year? He overcomed that at least with his first half of his season this year. Andy only got physical issue, but so many rider has came back for injury. And don't forget on June it will be 3 years for andy.

Were there many who thought that Contador should retire after last year????

Who said that? because I would be shock if many on this forum said that. Now, please exclude Sky fans please. They don't count. Thanks.

 

[chiocciolis_calves]

Yes it is. Difficult times it's not only about physically, but mentally as well. How many of us discounted Contador as being old and should just retire last year? He overcomed that at least with his first half of his season this year. Andy only got physical issue, but so many rider has came back for injury. And don't forget on June it will be 3 years for andy.

No one did, but I wouldn't let that stop you from making the absurd comparison between the two.

 

[Yingge]

The f***ing knee injury ruined what would have surly been a glorious and epic victory. Ah well, did his job for Frank.

Time to re-load and then dominate the Tour. I predict at least a 5 minute winning margin and a minimum of 5 long range Galibier-like rides. It'll be domination on a scale we've never seen before.

There can only be two reasons for Andy even being selected by Trek to ride the TdF this year:

1. It is in his contract (subject to fitness);

OR

2. To have him humiliated once again - and provide endless Andy fodder to this and other forums.

Perhaps he should ride in the Tour of Austria while the TdF is on.

 

[movingtarget]

The trouble with Andy is the three year comeback. He sounds despondent not surprisingly.

 

[shades1]

an injury that happened 2 years ago nearly

i miss my brother

head is not right

baby keeping me awake

sore knee

i think we could find the answer to all this a lot quicker if this thread was in the clinic !!

 

[Afrank]

There are multiple threads in the clinic about him already. Keep the clinic stuff where it belongs (i.e. not here).

 

[NaturalClen]

There are multiple threads in the clinic about him already. Keep the clinic stuff where it belongs (i.e. not here).

You may want to calm down Butthead to

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showpost.php?p=1449457&postcount=247

 

[Beech Mtn]

Dunno maybe sky is interested in signing him

<snipped>

Now that's just mean! Andy's knee will never heal with Kerrison's ridiculous training camps.

If Trek had any brains, they'd trade Andy to Sky for Dombrowski.

 

[Beech Mtn]

Were there many who thought that Contador should retire after last year????

Who said that? because I would be shock if many on this forum said that. Now, please exclude Sky fans please. They don't count. Thanks.

Yes there were a few outspoken folks saying that over and over. And they weren't Sky fans either, but Contador fans. See the AC thread in the PRR section from last year. It was embarrassing to read some of it.

Anyway, back to Andy: do we know yet what his next race will be now that he's out of Romandie? Any chance they might bring him to AToC? Or are we waiting for some doctor's diagnosis to determine what's next for him?

 

[Marco Pantani]

Tour of Luxembourg and afterwards TdS if I remember correctly.

 

[Beech Mtn]

Thanks - Lux will have lots of fans, friends, home crowds - maybe he can at least try to have a positive experience out of the whole thing.

 

[Alpechraxler]

Trek knows how to deal with knees just ask horner !

 

[purcell]

I will repeat what I have said every time Andy Schleck is the topic.

He is and always has been a pretender. He is not a leader and should have been allowed to "lead" a team. He is at best a mid-level bottle carrier and what we have seen the last 3 years is, in my view, the best he has to offer.

He is a spoilt little brat who frankly needs to get a job in a factory as he is clearly unsuited to professional bike racing.

 

[Jelantik]

No one did, but I wouldn't let that stop you from making the absurd comparison between the two.

sorry it's absurb for you. They're both talented and they both used to be nemesis/friend and the two best climbers in the world. And those two guys can't be so different like an opposite north pole and south pole. Even Bjarne mentioned one time (when he signed contador) about how the two are so different in an opposite direction. I'm talking about how andy's character before and how now, he finally being found out, who he really is. Everything comes easy for him throughout his career. If you look Contador's career, every time he settled in a team, he got lots of adversity to deal with. Remember he almost died too with his brain aneurism. But he came back. He dealt with Lance, dealt with the whole squad left him for Radio Shack, the Once team, and his ban etc, etc. you name it. Compare to Contador, andy's career is more rosy. Sure andy got injured last year, but that excuse has an expiration date. That's what i'm comparing. The mentality and fortitude to face the adversity whether it's physically or mentally. That's all.

 

[Jelantik]

Anyway, back to Andy: do we know yet what his next race will be now that he's out of Romandie? Any chance they might bring him to AToC? Or are we waiting for some doctor's diagnosis to determine what's next for him?

He was in TOC last year and was in the breakaway Maybe tour of Luxembourg? Btw, I wonder why won't he try Vuelta of the Giro instead of keep shooting for TDF?

 

[ferryman]

Really, really disappointed in the latest DNF by Andy. You can hear his frustration coming through in the last CN article.

As long as he is determined to carry on to try and get it right, I'll stick with him.

Some of the hate on here is simply that. I guess we all like who we like and vice versa. But, you really don't have to dislike a rider just because you like another rider who is (was) a rival.

 

[chiocciolis_calves]

sorry it's absurb for you. They're both talented and they both used to be nemesis/friend and the two best climbers in the world. And those two guys can't be so different like an opposite north pole and south pole. Even Bjarne mentioned one time (when he signed contador) about how the two are so different in an opposite direction. I'm talking about how andy's character before and how now, he finally being found out, who he really is. Everything comes easy for him throughout his career. If you look Contador's career, every time he settled in a team, he got lots of adversity to deal with. Remember he almost died too with his brain aneurism. But he came back. He dealt with Lance, dealt with the whole squad left him for Radio Shack, the Once team, and his ban etc, etc. you name it. Compare to Contador, andy's career is more rosy. Sure andy got injured last year, but that excuse has an expiration date. That's what i'm comparing. The mentality and fortitude to face the adversity whether it's physically or mentally. That's all.

You contended that there were people here saying Contador after last year's TDF. I don't recall any of that. Contador had won the Vuelta the previous fall and finished fourth in the Tour last year. Andy finished 20th, 40+ minutes down. He hasn't won a race in three years. Contador returned at a level that is still in the uppermost echelon of the sport. Andy spends his time getting dropped or exiting the race before it's finished, a long time after making his return. I don't even think the injuries explain why he is a non-entity. I think you know what I mean. We see several riders in this same boat now. Your comparison is ridiculous.

The real shame of this is that Andy takes a spot away from a rider who actually deserves it. I would hope after this season that the spot will open up. Neither of these brothers are worth the trouble for a top-level team. When you look at how bare their palmares are compared to the hype, I think most objective fans understand this.

 

[Afrank]

Really, really disappointed in the latest DNF by Andy. You can hear his frustration coming through in the last CN article.

As long as he is determined to carry on to try and get it right, I'll stick with him.

Some of the hate on here is simply that. I guess we all like who we like and vice versa. But, you really don't have to dislike a rider just because you like another rider who is (was) a rival.

You should try out the approach to Andy I've adopted.

The irrational fanboy 100% sure we'll see some domination from him sooner or later approach.

 

[hfer07]

Just checking: Is his contract expiring this year? What about Frank's?

 

[saneguy]

Just read his interview on CN. Havent heard him as aggressive in a while.

"I know that I need to prove something to the team because who would send someone to the Tour who rides a bike like I do at the moment? No one, and no one will want to ride for me so I want to show something in Suisse. I know that. I want to."

"My form is not so bad. My form is good and I insist on that. I was training hard and was doing five hours behind the scooter. My form is good. It's just the knee."

I hope he gets some results in Lux and Suisse.