Andy Schleck Discussion thread.

[serfla]

Schleck seems like a different person this year judging by the interview. He genuinly wants to win again, and sems to enjoy riding his bike now.

That's the point. To enjoy the job you do. Everything what comes along with it (the enjoyment) - it's bonus.
Little bit different in sport where (some kind of) the result is purpose, but the source of motivation should be the same in every walk of life, inner satisfaction rather than outside gratification.
Signs of maturity in the youngest Schleck.

 

[Afrank]

yeah, but you gotta admit it all appears to lack urgency seen from the outside.

Being relaxed doesn't necessarily mean he has a lack or urgency. If anything, it means he is starting to enjoy his time on the bike again, he and Guercilena have both said that's what he needs to do.

Could it be because Johan is no longer there? Seems the merger of the two teams and Johans management style was the start of his and Frank's problems in 2012.

Definitely part of it, Bruyneel's management style just did not work out. We're not far into the season, but the team seams much better off this year.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

That's the point. To enjoy the job you do. Everything what comes along with it (the enjoyment) - it's bonus.
Little bit different in sport where (some kind of) the result is purpose, but the source of motivation should be the same in every walk of life, inner satisfaction rather than outside gratification.
Signs of maturity in the youngest Schleck.

a little too deep for me, but agree that JB was not the right man to manage Schleck.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Being relaxed doesn't necessarily mean he has a lack or urgency. If anything, it means he is starting to enjoy his time on the bike again, he and Guercilena have both said that's what he needs to do.

agree, everything is possible. Lets wait and see the action on the road in April.

 

[LaFlorecita]

That's the point. To enjoy the job you do. Everything what comes along with it (the enjoyment) - it's bonus.
Little bit different in sport where (some kind of) the result is purpose, but the source of motivation should be the same in every walk of life, inner satisfaction rather than outside gratification.
Signs of maturity in the youngest Schleck.

Finally .

 

[rzombie1988]

So Andy says he wants to improve. The ITT better be the first step or else he's wasting his time. I think he will be lucky to even make the top 5 with Alberto, Froome and a little bit worn by not out Wiggins, plus the other contenders.

 

[Carols]

Andy currently in a cut throat battle for lantern rouge? Well at least he should finish, guess we'll have to settle for that for now.

 

[shades1]

So Andy says he wants to improve. The ITT better be the first step or else he's wasting his time. I think he will be lucky to even make the top 5 with Alberto, Froome and a little bit worn by not out Wiggins, plus the other contenders.

i take it you are talking TDF here , the 2 ITTs are less than 1OOK between them with 4 medium mountain stages and 5 main mountain stages and a total of 3 summit finishes , if he comes in to the race in full fitness the race favors andy in a massive way .

one thing is for sure , we need him back to his best after last years bore fest .

im from UK and proud of what wiggo and froome done but the race just did not excite in 2O12 without andy and contador .

roll on july !!

 

[Contadoraus Schlecks]

I was trying to remain optimistic about Andys prospects for July this year.
Unfortunately I'm beginning to think it might be July 2014 before we see the best of him again. He's got a lot of ground to make up in the next five months

Maybe the plan was never to compete in Australia though. Purely to get miles in the legs?

 

[meat puppet]

This is not a trick question, but gotta ask this anyway. Shouldn't it be relatively easy to just hang on to the peloton, given that you are a pro? The stages have not been particularly hard or long. I guess you can hang on with less than 250W avg, probably with something like 220 or so, on a flat stage.

Several SRM blogs from several flattish stages suggest so, anyway. Here's Greipel's TDU stage 1 from 2011.

Here'sGreipel's TDF 2011 stage 7. 180W and 107 bpm avgs, and it's the Tour...

Not particularly hard, IMO, even when the race situation will consist of frequent fluctutations in speed & power. However, the drafting effects of the peloton make up for a lot nonetheless.

Just genuinely interested about what the pros' baselines are. Actually not only pros' but cream of the crap pros' - winners of LBL and GC contenders.

 

[shades1]

I was trying to remain optimistic about Andys prospects for July this year.
Unfortunately I'm beginning to think it might be July 2014 before we see the best of him again. He's got a lot of ground to make up in the next five months

Maybe the plan was never to compete in Australia though. Purely to get miles in the legs?

hes not going to be charging up a mountain for a good while yet , the most you are likely to see is him stretching his legs in a breakaway .

we are not talking about a second tier domestique here , the guy is one of the top climbers in the world and everything he does is focused around one race in july .

its no different to training a horse to win a classic , its all preperation and building up to peak fitness for that one race .

he sadly does not have many fans on this forum but i have a sneaky feeling he may just earn a bit of respect when the real racing starts .

 

[LaFlorecita]

hes not going to be charging up a mountain for a good while yet , the most you are likely to see is him stretching his legs in a breakaway .

You can say whatever you want but he should be able to beat sprinters like Kittel, Guardini etc in a stage race. Look at him being next to last, only managing to just beat Guarnieri. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he's dead last after the last stage.

we are not talking about a second tier domestique here , the guy is one of the top climbers in the world and everything he does is focused around one race in july .

its no different to training a horse to win a classic , its all preperation and building up to peak fitness for that one race .

he sadly does not have many fans on this forum but i have a sneaky feeling he may just earn a bit of respect when the real racing starts .

not unless he actually tries to do something outside July and that one race in April. By the way what do you mean with "real racing"? The tour? LOL.

 

[Carols]

its no different to training a horse to win a classic , its all preperation and building up to peak fitness for that one race .

Oh really? Finishing next to last in a prep race is Not conducive to winning classics. One expects a Good Showing in a build up to peak for a horse aiming for a target race. So 4th while galloping out strongly is very acceptable depending on the competition but last by 25+ lengths indicates either a physical issue or lack of class at the level of competition.

Andy doesn't lack the back class; that is a given. Everything else is still debatable at this point in time. IMO Andy actually finishing the race is one tiny step forward.

 

[shades1]

not unless he actually tries to do something outside July and that one race in April. By the way what do you mean with "real racing"? The tour? LOL.

well i dont know what his actual schedule is , all i know is that it will be a fairly busy one leading up to july , all im trying to say is that you cannot expect to see anything spectacular for a while , that was a pretty bad injury and the time away from the road would have had a huge impact on his fitness .

im sure each race will bring on gradual improvement and he will show more on each outing , bringing up the tail end of the peleton at this stage of his comeback really does not mean a thing . if he starts being competitive before his body is ready it could do more harm than good . the guy should be given all the time he needs .

pro racing need andy and contador back to there best this year and anyone that does not agree with that ... well !!

 

[LaFlorecita]

I disagree there are other great cyclists who can take their place. Cycling doesn't "need" them. I want Alberto back to his best purely for personal reasons. I don't care about Andy.

 

[Christian]

That's the point. To enjoy the job you do. Everything what comes along with it (the enjoyment) - it's bonus.
Little bit different in sport where (some kind of) the result is purpose, but the source of motivation should be the same in every walk of life, inner satisfaction rather than outside gratification.
Signs of maturity in the youngest Schleck.

I am surprised that people see this as "signs of maturity" for Andy. In the early part of his career, it was all about the fun. If you look at Giro 2007 and Tours 2008, 2009, same with FW and LBL that year, he didn't have a single worry in the world. He just went out and had fun and actually got great results along the way. But back then he was still a newcomer and he was not really a "favourite", so noone expected him to deliver.

But since 2010 it kind of seemed like the fun was gone. I think there were a lot of factors that contributed to it (chaingate, responsibility of leadership, problems with Riis, pressure of having created a national team, injury, Bruyneel...), I assume it was a combination of all of those. He still got really great results but it always seemed kind of forced, never as lighthearted as in the early years.

But Andy is no Wiggins, he is not like an accountant who sits in the office 8 hrs a day to win races and later proclaim that it was "no fun at all" (sic). So I really hope that he can enjoy riding again because if he does then we will see an Andy with the lightheartedness of 2007 but with the physical capability of a 28 year-old. It will (would?) be fierce. Personally I think they are off to a good start. Guercilena seems to have turned things around and they let him work with his friends again such as Didier and Andersen. As for his physical condition I think a lot of people underestimate just how little he has raced, even ridden a bike in the last year. In the interview on the front page he said he was worse than as a junior in Beijing, and now people on this forum are seriously asking "Why isn't he doing better, his last race was 3 months ago??!". But hey. What can you do.

Anyways if it had been me, I would have chosen a different program than usual. They partly did that, with Down Under and Tour Med for example, which are races he has never done IINM. Personally I would have gone a step further and said: "Screw the Tour and the Ardennes, I'll try new races this year and go for GC at Tour of Austria before heading to the Vuelta" (for example). But considering that means profoundly misunderstanding Andy. He does whatever the hell he wants, whatever is most fun to him. And that is the Ardennes and the Tour. And trying to have fun is a sign of maturity. I mean disgrace for cycling. Or something like that.

 

[Christian]

I don't care about Andy.

Hence your 2000 posts about him

 

[Carols]

im sure each race will bring on gradual improvement and he will show more on each outing , bringing up the tail end of the peleton at this stage of his comeback really does not mean a thing .

If he has rediscovered a love of the sport and competition then he will indeed gradually improve race to race. He has never shown a high base level and we certainly can't expect him to now.

Just don't bring in comparisons to prepping horses for races; classics or otherwise as you're obviously a complete novice there.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Hence your 2000 posts about him

2000? No.

I don't care if he ever gets back to his old level I mean. Btw I think he's hilarious, always good for a laugh.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Andy Schleck ‏@andy_schleck
wf

anyone have an idea what this might mean?

 

[Christian]

Andy Schleck ‏@andy_schleck
wf

anyone have an idea what this might mean?

lol you are not obsessed with him at all. I think this is what experts refer to as a "b*tt tweet"

 

[LaFlorecita]

lol you are not obsessed with him at all. I think this is what experts refer to as a "b*tt tweet"

well I saw it in my TL and wondered what it meant. Pretty normal right?

 

[gruppeto993]

I actually think this year he should ride the tour with Frank as captain and he as a super domestique. Then he should target the vuelta. A win at the Vuelta where the field might be weaker will do his morale more good rather than come second/third/any other ranking in the Tour. Realistically, I think his form would be better by the Vuelta since he would have had more race kilometres. Also the pressure of peaking for the Tour and winning it will not do his recovery any good

 

[LaFlorecita]

I actually think this year he should ride the tour with Frank as captain and he as a super domestique. Then he should target the vuelta. A win at the Vuelta where the field might be weaker will do his morale more good rather than come second/third/any other ranking in the Tour. Realistically, I think his form would be better by the Vuelta since he would have had more race kilometres. Also the pressure of peaking for the Tour and winning it will not do his recovery any good

What if Frank gets banned

 

[gruppeto993]

I don't think Frank will get banned. I really don't think he doped.
End of story.

If he does then the team should aim for stage wins and forget about GC. They have Gallopin/Monfort/Andy/Horner/Kiserlovski.