Andy Schleck Discussion thread.

[webbie146]

of course always remember that are other factors too, i think this year was raced extremely fast the stage, at 40 km/h . headwind too. but when gesink won, i remember that the headwind was stronger

overall though andy is back

and he will have a nice little present for fuglsang in le tour, drop him on every ascent

Yea I understand, still I'm very excited Seems Andy is getting back in shape just in time.

 

[Frosty]

40-1 for the tour, tempted to have a punt each-way. Not sure how he'll do but there must be a chance of him returning to previous form. Would struggle to beat Contador and Froome so it would probably be for third but there's always the chance that one or both of them don't make it to the finish without crashing/getting ill, etc.

 

[nick101]

hopefully he'll podium . his form should be good enough that he can limit time losses and by ventoux he should be feeling better. when he was at the tds with only slightly better form (as we mentioned before) he was peaking by the start of the second week at the tour so hopefully he does well. but he hasn't done a proper gt since 2010 so that may cause some problems, although at the 2007 giro it was his first gt and he didn't struggle too much there

 

[Squire]

hopefully he'll podium . his form should be good enough that he can limit time losses and by ventoux he should be feeling better. when he was at the tds with only slightly better form (as we mentioned before) he was peaking by the start of the second week at the tour so hopefully he does well. but he hasn't done a proper gt since 2010 so that may cause some problems, although at the 2007 giro it was his first gt and he didn't struggle too much there

Different era and all that...

However, I really think he can feature in this year's Tour afterall. Got on a cheeky EW-bet at 67, just in case

I think the fight for the third podium spot (not necessarily 3rd place, mind you) will be between Valverde and Pinot and now possibly Schleck.

 

[movingtarget]

I get the feeling Andy might lose a lot of time early on in the tour (not on purpose) then go for stages.

I'd be happy with that. I think his legs are coming good, but to be consistent over 3 weeks is a whole different ball game.

I think you may be right. He is showing signs of improvement but not enough at this stage.

 

[Dedelou]

I think you may be right. He is showing signs of improvement but not enough at this stage.

(40 Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack Leopard 0:22:37 ) with this kind of time he might make it top 50 at TDF

 

[Panda Claws]

(40 Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack Leopard 0:22:37 ) with this kind of time he might make it top 50 at TDF

Yeah, because he usually wins Suisse and no-one ever improves between Suisse and the Tour.

 

[Coolair2970]

of course always remember that are other factors too, i think this year was raced extremely fast the stage, at 40 km/h . headwind too. but when gesink won, i remember that the headwind was stronger

overall though andy is back

and he will have a nice little present for fuglsang in le tour, drop him on every ascent

If Fuglsang is climbing like he did in Dauphine I like to see Andy drop him on every climb. He (Fuglsang) was the only one with the guts to attack Sky and he did really well.
Only a very bad TT cost him a place on the podium

 

[webbie146]

Quote from Andy: " It was a good test on the last day. The climb felt ok to me, but riding it alone instead of with a teammate or others around isn’t such a good measure. But overall I had good feelings.” Schleck will begin his final training for the Tour de France which starts on June 29."

Hmm uphill TT is not such a good measure okay

 

[airstream]

Test is done. Andy saw everything he wanted from this race and will god in the Tour.

 

[Contadoraus Schlecks]

Test is done. Andy saw everything he wanted from this race and will god in the Tour.

Can you elaborate please?

 

[airstream]

Can you elaborate please?

I meant Andy rode the race only at known to himself low % of actual capacities, so it will be ok in July

 

[Contadoraus Schlecks]

I meant Andy rode the race only at known to himself low % of actual capacities, so it will be ok in July

Ah, okay. I would like to have seen at least one demonstration of his superior climbing abilities prior to the Tour. He is a total unknown quantity at this stage. I think he could trouble Froome and Contador in the third week if he can stay within touching distance until then.

 

[ultimobici]

Quote from Andy: " It was a good test on the last day. The climb felt ok to me, but riding it alone instead of with a teammate or others around isn’t such a good measure. But overall I had good feelings.” Schleck will begin his final training for the Tour de France which starts on June 29."

Hmm uphill TT is not such a good measure okay

So 2 weeks before the start of the TdF a 3 minute loss on a stage like today is meaningless? Do me a favour Miss Schleck! How on earth can anyone think he will be any threat in July? He lost more time in this TT than his entire deficit in 2010.

 

[Alpechraxler]

Imagine he just gets rid of lets say 1.5 kg and his power still goes up 2 %. Boom Top 10 Contender

 

[Gugashwill]

I'd like to see Andy's intermediate time splits vs. TJ and Cancellara.
The day when Andy has beaten Cancellara in a tt has to be remembered

 

[webbie146]

Imagine he just gets rid of lets say 1.5 kg and his power still goes up 2 %. Boom Top 10 Contender

Hmm I think Andy said in a interview he was almost at his tdf weight of 09/10/11. Power will def go up, Andy has always made a hugeeee step from Suisse to tdf somehow

 

[Taxus4a]

I didnt expect this ITT for Andy today after he said the training was finished and he just would take care to be safe till the Tour.

He was in the flat part at the same time as Kloden, that is a sign he was involved, and finally his time was not bad.

He was 40th overall but if he wouldnt have soft-pedaling a day he could have been top 30 or even 25 (without been so strong in this last two days).

And two years ago, when he finished TdS in 19th overall he was close to win the Tour to Evans. He could even win if he wouldnt thought so much in his brother podium, and without that descent...

So the situation it is not so different, he could be one of the strongest riders in the Tour as usually.

The problem is not his shape now, the problem is the handicap of to be 2 years without any grand Tour.

We dont know if could be consequences for that.

 

[hfer07]

I meant Andy rode the race only at known to himself low % of actual capacities, so it will be ok in July

 

[nick101]

he's not coming into the tdf with bad form. worse than past years yes, but look at his massive improvements from the tds to the tour in past years. as someone said, im not sure how not having a gt in his legs will affect him. but at the 2007 giro it was his first gt and he was the best young rider and was riding and climbing (top 5 easily) with the best and his performance was the best out of any young rider I can remember in recent years (apart from contador winning the tdf)

 

[argyllflyer]

he's not coming into the tdf with bad form. worse than past years yes, but look at his massive improvements from the tds to the tour in past years. as someone said, im not sure how not having a gt in his legs will affect him. but at the 2007 giro it was his first gt and he was the best young rider and was riding and climbing (top 5 easily) with the best and his performance was the best out of any young rider I can remember in recent years (apart from contador winning the tdf)

Are effectively overnight improvements really what's wanted? Maybe he's missing old Franck.

 

[saneguy]

I have heard this argument quite a bit - that he doesnt perform well before the Tour and really picks up his performance in the Tour. While this is true - in all those years he was very much in control of things. He knew he is going slow and he knew he has the legs come the Tour. This year he has not tested himself at all. Most of the past years he did exceptionally well at LBL. This year he did ok. Not too bad but not as good as past years either.

I have seen some big improvements for him this year. But no one can take away the fact that he definitely does not have the racing days which he lost last year. Plus 2013 did start with some hiccups. If Andy actually does well in the Tour this year - maybe a Top 25 finish - I'd say he's had an exceptional year and he then clearly has a great chance next year. He has already mentioned that he may do Vuelta. That should be interesting as well.

Mentally - he does need some race / stage wins to get back some confidence. He will be killed in the TT at the Tour. In the coming winter he should surely focus only on TT. Look at the improvements that Nibali had done for his TT. Clearly thats what has won him the Giro this year. He already was a good climber and an exceptional descender. Andy needs to pull up his socks in the TT. The next 5-7 years are going to be all about the TT with Skyborg leading the way. Unless he improves his TT winning a grand tour is going to be difficult. Unfortuantely only climbing is not going to help anymore.

 

[Alpechraxler]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-de-suisse-2013/stage-9/photos/269944

Who finds a marginal gain ?

 

[nick101]

Andy seriously does need to sort out his tting if he wants to win a tdf. the reason why he doesn't usually is because he claims if he focuses too much on tting, it'll make his climbing worse. idk if that's right tho.

I see andy as a serious top ten if not top 5 contender. You can see he's strongly motivated, his struggles have made him more motivated to perform than previous years. He's gone from placing at the bottom of results list to near the top within a week. that's a pretty good improvement imo. His motivation will really help him succeed this year, usually his mentality is his downfall in the tdf. He'll go into the tdf with everything to gain and nothing to lose, which makes him extremely dangerous. At the tour he still has a full 7 stages before he needs to be able to keep up in the mountains. Judging by how his legs are reacting to the racing, I'd say he may only lose a minute to froome at ax-3. in the TTT he'll be helped along if he has any problems.

As for L-G-L he's mostly performed mediocre and below expectations there apart from the year he won and gilbert over powered them. The vuelta may be too much to ask if he races seriously and pushes himself at the tdf like I think he will.

 

[Netserk]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-de-suisse-2013/stage-9/photos/269944

Who finds a marginal gain ?

He has a bottle cage, but no bottle. Noob.