Andy Schleck Discussion thread.

[trevim]

Contador:
I want to send my best wishes in the new life to a superclass with I've lived my bigest sports challenges#AndySchleck

Cancellara:
I wish you all the best for you next step into normal life @andy_schleck be proud of what you achived in your sportlife.

Voigt:
My friend and teammate Andy Schleck just had his pressconference and of course i followed it. Andy i support you and always stay your friend.
Now you can start new projects and take new challenges! You are a great rider and an ever greater Friend!! @andy_schleck my younger brother!
Best thing is we both know we gonna stay connected and keep doing things together! Friendship beyound our careers.

 

[Walkman]

Wrong. The only reason why it was cut short was cause of his lack of determination. He didn't have the will to go through everything.

Such a rider, i can't respect to the fullest.

You obviously don't know the characteristics of his injuries. Your judgement over Andy's "lack of will" is laughable and I can't respect someone who comes here just to point to Andy's flaws, given that you don't know sh*t about his medical condition.

 

[Afrank]

Contador:
I want to send my best wishes in the new life to a superclass with I've lived my bigest sports challenges#AndySchleck

Cancellara:
I wish you all the best for you next step into normal life @andy_schleck be proud of what you achived in your sportlife.

Voigt:
My friend and teammate Andy Schleck just had his pressconference and of course i followed it. Andy i support you and always stay your friend.
Now you can start new projects and take new challenges! You are a great rider and an ever greater Friend!! @andy_schleck my younger brother!
Best thing is we both know we gonna stay connected and keep doing things together! Friendship beyound our careers.

That's cool. Some nice words from them.

 

[maxmartin]

You obviously don't know the characteristics of his injuries. Your judgement over Andy's "lack of will" is laughable and I can't respect someone who comes here just to point to Andy's flaws, given that you don't know sh*t about his medical condition.

What do you expect from these crazy fanatic AC fangirls? Any rider other than AC is not worthy in their little brains.

 

[T-Nielsen]

If you really wanted to regain top form wouldn't you surround himself with knee specialists ? I didn't read anything about him seeing different knee specialists etc etc.. If you really wanted to regain top form as a cyclist, you'd go to the ends of the earth , (ie even seek NFL doctors who specialize in knees, Meniscal transplantation etc. ) to seek out the best doctors. Did he ? I don't think so and is just not motivated anymore.

Yeah there is no chance that there is a knee specialist in Basel. I mean what would a knee specialist be doing in Switzerland. Its not like there are like rich skiers or something there... oh wait...

 

[richwagmn]

If you really wanted to regain top form wouldn't you surround himself with knee specialists ? I didn't read anything about him seeing different knee specialists etc etc.. If you really wanted to regain top form as a cyclist, you'd go to the ends of the earth , (ie even seek NFL doctors who specialize in knees, Meniscal transplantation etc. ) to seek out the best doctors. Did he ? I don't think so and is just not motivated anymore.

How do you know who he saw and what he tried? You don't.

Second, it may not be repairable for cycling.

 

[myrideissteelerthanyours]

One thing we do know for certain is AS cemented AC's status as a nonlegend by beating him and simultaneously being accused of being a terrible human being and cyclist.

 

[yespatterns]

If Andy Schleck abandons retirement, does that mean he's a pro-cyclist again?

 

[shinoda13]

Really sad because of this news. I read an article some time ago about Gabriel Batistuta in which he said how painfull it's this problem when you have no cartilage in your knee. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...iel-Batistuta-begged-doctors-remove-legs.html

 

[Electress]

Friend of mine has this - from doing things like the Marathon des Sables and the 100k across the Gobi…he now literally cannot run to the end of the street. Even if there were options for it to be fixed (and honestly, I don't think there are beyond the realms of experimental research, if not) by the time he's done them, and recuperated, its all over any way.

I'm no massive fan of the Schleck brothers, but he's had a tough ride lately. I hope he moves onto something he's really passionate about.

 

[willbick]

Now that he's retired i assume this thread may only reach 1000 pages rather than 2000

 

[GuyIncognito]

Personally the moment when I lost any lingering doubt that he was done was after the 2013 Tour when he finished 20th and said that he could've been 15th but 'that would've meant digging deep'

If he can't even care to dig deep at the one race he cares about...

 

[Red Rick]

Love how Contador can pay respect to Andy's career and **** on Froome simultaneously

 

[T-Nielsen]

Love how Contador can pay respect to Andy's career and **** on Froome simultaneously

Yeah that was really a win win.

 

[Microchip]

There's a whole swath of retirements going on!

 

[Publicus]

One thing we do know for certain is AS cemented AC's status as a nonlegend by beating him and simultaneously being accused of being a terrible human being and cyclist.

I do wonder who is going to take this trolling bait...

EDIT: on a more serious note, I think Virenque should have probably just kept his thoughts to himself--though I do think his comments are accurate:

Richard Virenque (speaking to Le Monde):

“He didn’t do everything he was capable of doing physically. He shone a few years ago but his career was too short for my taste. Every year, the hardest thing for a rider to do is reassess himself. Andy had class. He was a very good climber, a complete rider, but maybe his mentality wasn’t strong enough.”

 

[ultimobici]

I do wonder who is going to take this trolling bait...

EDIT: on a more serious note, I think Virenque should have probably just kept his thoughts to himself--though I do think his comments are accurate:

To be fair,to Tricky Dickie, CN probably use the same standards in translation as they do in proofreading. Virenque is bang on the money and, as a former pro, is eminently qualified to call it the way he did. Schleck was very talented and didn't win anywhere near as much as that talent suggested. His weakness was that he seemed to fragile mentally for the trials that befell him in recent seasons. Virenque is still in the public eye in France as he is a cycling pundit for Eurosport.

 

[The Blues]

You guys should give the following article a read. It's definitely worth it.

http://rouleur.cc/journal/riders/andy-schleck

 

[May0maniac]

Wow, time flies. I will miss the old Andy. You can say many things about him but he was an awesome climber.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2tiZbwylhc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4I0auUP5iQ

 

[Contadoraus Schlecks]

To be fair,to Tricky Dickie, CN probably use the same standards in translation as they do in proofreading. Virenque is bang on the money and, as a former pro, is eminently qualified to call it the way he did. Schleck was very talented and didn't win anywhere near as much as that talent suggested. His weakness was that he seemed to fragile mentally for the trials that befell him in recent seasons. Virenque is still in the public eye in France as he is a cycling pundit for Eurosport.

I understand what you're saying but podiuming 4 Grand Tours does not come without massive pressure, which he appeared to handle at the time.

Hope he writes a book

 

[skidmark]

Sigh.

Andy emerged at the pro level just as I started following cycling more closely than the Tour. I was stoked when he tore it up in the 2007 Giro, and remembered thinking he'd be a Tour contender, season himself, and be able to go for the double some day. I remember feeling all smart at the start of the 2008 Tour telling my not-as-rabid-fan friends to watch out for him, and was a hunger knock away from being more than sorta right. I remember staying up in the middle of the night watching the Olympics in Bejing as he attacked again and again, his look of bewilderment as Cancellara flew across the gap to the lead group, and his urging of everyone to work. I saw the possibility of a super-talented rider who could win the Tour, compete in the classics, and race aggressively while putting Luxembourg back on the sporting map. At 2009 in Liege I thought his era had been ushered in, and that Contador would have to look out at the Tour. Armstrong would be an afterthought.

Then I started listening to him when he opened his mouth. Then I started noticing that his focus was narrowing on the Tour, he became less aggressive. The rabid hatred of him on here as these forums started did even more to dampen my initial enthusiasm; although I thought it was simplistic piling on, there was enough truth to it to make me acknowledge that I no longer was a fan. Although I held out hope for a sec that the 'fire in my belly' comments after chaingate would finally ignite some kind of spark in him, it was quickly apparent that it fizzled. After his injury in 2012, his current trajectory seemed pretty much inevitable, and I started feeling sorry for him rather than hating on him. And of course, part of me still wanted 2007 me to be right, for him to fight through setbacks and come back with that talent and ability and a newer, hardier attitude that would finally make him actualize what was clearly there to begin with.

But oh well. The lacklustre tweets of support say it all - former teammates, competitors, and even his brother, their words all come with an elephant-in-the-room subtext of 'what a disappointment'.

 

[trevim]

Love how Contador can pay respect to Andy's career and **** on Froome simultaneously

That's a funny way to see it but I really doubt Contador is that obsessed with Froome. Just sympathetic words to a former rival who is going through a very rough patch. Even with that Bales incident, Andy and Alberto always had a very good relationship off the bike, close to friendship.

Personally, I feel sad with the way Andy is going out. Frank was always my favourite brother but Andy definitely was the chosen one: no amounts of doping could give him that souplesse climbing mountains. I truly hope he finds happiness in whatever he chooses to do in the future. Just don't become a DS, your tactics were often appalling.

As Contador says, at the end of day it's all about the memories you give to the fans. In that regard Andy will always be a big one: the kid who went 2nd in his first GT, took Liege in a dominating fashion and won on the Galibier with a Merckx like attack. No one will remember his often ridiculous statements and rightly so, it's all about what happened in the road.

Good luck Andy!

 

[Taxus4a]

Hope to see him in the future, although I dont think so.

 

[jaylew]

Can we forbid this attitude once and for all. It is arrogant and exclusivist to imply that only those who have raced can validly discuss the sport.

Nah, sometimes it's completely valid.

I wasn't a fan, but it is sad to see him not retire on his own terms and that he was never able to achieve the greatness that was clearly inside of him. I hope he's at peace with his decision....

This

But the day CN posters get interested in the classics, the Sun will rise in the West, I guess... Poor forum!

Yeah, everyone here hates the classics

I don't give a crap about the rest of the world. The riders agree that Paris-Roubaix is above the Tour of France, dude. So I draw the conclusion...

Only the riders you care about. Give it a rest, Echoes. We know by now...classics are the best, cobbles are the best, cyclocross is the best, old is good, new is bad, tradition is good, change is bad...

If Oscar Pereiro won the tour... then so did Andy.

If not... then you could call them vacant I suppose like they did with Lance's. But Contador certainly didn't win it.

Contador definitely won but then so did Lance, sadly. That said, the situations are not even close to being the same.

I do wonder who is going to take this trolling bait...

No one bit on his first attempt so he had to try again. Hopefully everyone is smart enough to abstain once again.

 

[movingtarget]

You guys should give the following article a read. It's definitely worth it.

http://rouleur.cc/journal/riders/andy-schleck

Nice article. Thanks.