Andy Schleck Discussion thread.

[contador977]

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

I hope your kidding. Contador said this about Froome "Froome is the strongest rival I have come across and you can never count him out."

Alberto's tweet is paying respect. Contador being dropped on Ventoux was probably pretty humbling. I think a big part of Contador improving his form and working his tail off this year was witnessing Froome going full out alien in 2013. That Froome is nearly impossible to beat.

 

[Echoes]

Yeah, everyone here hates the classics

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...

I didn't say they hate, I said they don't give it a crap... How can you hate something you don't care about?

Hushovd, Gilbert and Wiggins are not riders I particularly care about and yet they know what Paris-Roubaix is.

Caricaturing won't help you, dude.

 

[Afrank]

I didn't say they hate, I said they don't give it a crap... How can you hate something you don't care about?

Hushovd, Gilbert and Wiggins are not riders I particularly care about and yet they know what Paris-Roubaix is.

Caricaturing won't help you, dude.

Do you seriously believe that the people here don't care about the classics?

Liking and talking about Stage racing =/= not caring about classics. Can't both types of racing by liked and talked about?

 

[jaylew]

I didn't say they hate, I said they don't give it a crap... How can you hate something you don't care about?

Hushovd, Gilbert and Wiggins are not riders I particularly care about and yet they know what Paris-Roubaix is.

Caricaturing won't help you, dude.

Fine, no one here cares about the classics.

Btw, you're right. You don't need any help from me. You've made yourself into a caricature.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Still find it very sad how his career ended when looking back. It seemed after his great Giro in 07 that he had the cycling world at his feet. Incredible wins at LBL 09 and up the Galibier in 2011 showed us how great he really could be when at his best.


Unfortunately that was as far as he could go, the records will always show he is a Tour winner but im sure even he will admit that it's a hollow win when he didn't step up on top in Paris with the yellow jersey. Nevertheless to podium in 4 GT's is a very fine achievement. It must have been shattering for him to get keep picking himself up after each setback including his bad fall in the Tour this season.

I hope he finds happiness in whatever he chooses next, he sure gave a lot of his fans (me included) some great days over the years.

 

[the asian]

Bye Bye Baby.

It's a shame he didn't live up to the expectations and wasted his talent.

But he still gave us some wonderful moments include the stages to Galibier and Alpe De Huez and ofc his battles with Bertie in the 2010 Tour.

And unlike most other Eternal Bridesmaids he had the good fortune to get rewarded due to Bertie's misfortune.

Ultimately he will be regarded as a rider with a **** weak mentality who wasted his talent,, who could have built up a better plamares if not for his obsession with then Tour and of course a lucky Tour winner

 

[Angliru]

The good:
His Giro podium
His LBL win
His battles with Contador in the mountains of the Tour
Galibier

The bad:
His incessant whining
The Anglo media's force feeding of him & Frank as cycling's favorite boys next door
Late April and July were the only times we would see him at his best with the exception Olympics (Samu's win) and his Giro win

And the Ugly:
He and Stuey's bar-hopping in Spain when they were supposed to be resting to ride in support of loving brother Frank
Chaingate and the "Belly full of anger"
He and Frank's perfect leadout for Philip Gilbert's LBL win
His knock-kneed, knees rubbing against his top tube, hideous riding style
His legendary dislike for training (he'd rather be fishing!)

I wish him luck and happiness in his after cycling life.

 

[The Hitch]

Well that saves a perrenial cq spot on my team.

Its sad though.

Looking back the years Schleck was good were golden years compared to what cycling is now. Well the 2009 Tour sucked real bad, but the other 4 he competed in + that Giro were better than the gts weve been getting recently.

And the attack on stage 18 2011, 60km out, made up for all his lack of attacking pretty much the rest of his career, it was that good, and only Contador from the recent era has done anything remotely similar.

 

[movingtarget]

Well that saves a perrenial cq spot on my team.

Its sad though.

Looking back the years Schleck was good were golden years compared to what cycling is now. Well the 2009 Tour sucked real bad, but the other 4 he competed in + that Giro were better than the gts weve been getting recently.

And the attack on stage 18 2011, 60km out, made up for all his lack of attacking pretty much the rest of his career, it was that good, and only Contador from the recent era has done anything remotely similar.

Harmon seemed to be the only one not impressed with that attack and referred to it in the following year's Dauphine commentary. Also had a dig at his brother saying that neither of them had the fire in the belly. Brian Smith seemed to agree with that statement and said that Andy did not try often enough, at that point of the Dauphine he had been dropped on a minor stage and was riding with sprinters and chatting with Vino in the pack. Smith said he was not trying and it certainly looked that way, he also said that the fans of Schleck and the team deserved better. This is why Andy never had the passionate fanbase other riders had. He was popular but for other reasons.

I enjoyed his attack on the Galibier but it was like his team and Schleck himself just woke up to the danger of Evans on GC with only two mountain stages to go which I found very odd and both Schlecks had made it easy for Evans up till then. I think they expected Contador who was not at his best to do more attacking and they only seemed to worry about him. All the time Evans was sitting just off the top of GC in a very good position especially with the final TT to come.

I liked watching Andy when he performed re the Galibier stage and his Liege win but for me and many others, the performances were too few and I don't mean the periods when he was recovering from crashes or injuries. Still I wish him luck with his future.

 

[Red Rick]

The good:
His Giro podium
His LBL win
His battles with Contador in the mountains of the Tour
Galibier

The bad:
His incessant whining
The Anglo media's force feeding of him & Frank as cycling's favorite boys next door
Late April and July were the only times we would see him at his best with the exception Olympics (Samu's win) and his Giro win

And the Ugly:
He and Stuey's bar-hopping in Spain when they were supposed to be resting to ride in support of loving brother Frank
Chaingate and the "Belly full of anger"
He and Frank's perfect leadout for Philip Gilbert's LBL win
His knock-kneed, knees rubbing against his top tube, hideous riding style
His legendary dislike for training (he'd rather be fishing!)

I wish him luck and happiness in his after cycling life.

Don't agree, I liked his style

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Can't we just abandandy this thread now

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Cipo: "Now, look at Schleck, look at Contador. They’re extraordinary athletes, but come on. They’re small, skinny, light, like a pair of show ponies.”

From a pretty good article on CN: http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/mario-cipollini-the-wounded-lion-king

 

[LaFlorecita]

Cipo: "Now, look at Schleck, look at Contador. They’re extraordinary athletes, but come on. They’re small, skinny, light, like a pair of show ponies.”

From a pretty good article on CN: http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/mario-cipollini-the-wounded-lion-king

yeah, I'm sure small, skinny climbers didn't exist before the year 2000.

 

[jaylew]

Never really was a fan but I do miss the Andy that would animate the Ardennes.

 

[No_Balls]

Cipo: "Now, look at Schleck, look at Contador. They’re extraordinary athletes, but come on. They’re small, skinny, light, like a pair of show ponies.”

Cipo: Calls Contador/Schleck a pair of gays - speaks himself about "handsome men"

 

[Electress]

Cipo: Calls Contador/Schleck a pair of gays - speaks himself about "handsome men"

Reading that article merely confirmed what I'd always thought; Cipo was an egomaniac tool.

It's sad to see just how many of these Great White Hopes ended up as nearly men. Was Andy oversold or just under=performed?

 

[Zam_Olyas]

I willl miss him...i was praying for him to win against evens in that 2011 tt.....

 

[Carols]

Was Andy oversold or just under=performed?

Both, but mostly under performed IMO.

 

[Marco Pantani]

I'm just rewatching stage 9 of the 2010 Tour and I don't know if I should be happy about the memories Andy left, or get depressed because he could've done so much more.

 

[Afrank]

I'm just rewatching stage 9 of the 2010 Tour and I don't know if I should be happy about the memories Andy left, or get depressed because he could've done so much more.

Be happy, no point in wondering what could have been. The past is gone and over, and it shouldn't be dwelled on. Just look back fondly and remember the memories Andy gave us while he was active in the sport.

 

[thehook]

I had the good fortune to actually meet Andy. When he was injured and out of the tour. I was on Alpe D'Huez and stumbled upon a promo appearance he was doing. He was with his now wife. He asked where I was from (accent). He and the Mrs. could not have been nicer. We had a cool conversation. And I really wanted him to come back to the top form. Sadly it was not to be. I look back on his career and just appreciate it more now. The guy was a beast climber. Peaked to early. Great admiration for what he accomplished. Guy was a class act!

 

[Contadoraus Schlecks]

Would love to have seen a top form Andy tackle the 2015 Tour. If ever there was a route that favoured him...

Top form Andy on this course > top form Cadel, Wiggins, Alberto, Froome, Nairn IMO of course

 

[Netserk]

Would love to have seen a top form Andy tackle the 2015 Tour. If ever there was a route that favoured him...

Top form Andy on this course > top form Cadel, Wiggins, Alberto, Froome, Nairn IMO of course

Was 2010 top form Andy? If so Contador would then take time on the three hill finishes and the ITT, and would only have to mark him from then on. We saw how Andy couldn't drop him on Tourmalet, so I don't really see how you can have him ahead of Contador.

 

[Angliru]

Would love to have seen a top form Andy tackle the 2015 Tour. If ever there was a route that favoured him...

Top form Andy on this course > top form Cadel, Wiggins, Alberto, Froome, Nairn IMO of course

A top form Andy was never superior (in the mountains on any gt course) to a top form Contador. I'd argue that he wasn't even his equal. He was close though.

 

[Taxus4a]

Was 2010 top form Andy? If so Contador would then take time on the three hill finishes and the ITT, and would only have to mark him from then on. We saw how Andy couldn't drop him on Tourmalet, so I don't really see how you can have him ahead of Contador.

He couldnt drop him but Contador was at his wheel, and even he couldnt drop andy when he attacked. it is not the same level to be at the wheel of someone.
It is the same than this Year with froome, Contador wantsn better than Froome in Ancares.