Andy Schleck Discussion thread.

[Christian]

Wanna bet whether he top-10 either?

It would not be a very risky bet IMO. Last year he got 20th, after practically not racing for an entire season, starting out from absolute zero, getting dropped in TDU flat stages, and without paying real attention to his GC placing.

So barring crashes and injury, Top-10 seems realistic this year

 

[Netserk]

It would not be a very risky bet IMO. Last year he got 20th, after practically not racing for an entire season, starting out from absolute zero, getting dropped in TDU flat stages, and without paying real attention to his GC placing.

So barring crashes and injury, Top-10 seems realistic this year

So you're on it?

 

[Never wait]

For all you Andy fans, why can't he get his form back? is it all in his head or is it that since FS's enhancement bust he is afraid to enhance himself? or is he in effect done as a contender? or is it all of the above??
I not a fan of his, but he sure has fallen off the cliff so to speak, his tour of Oman results did not shine as it were.

 

[Taxus4a]

Andy was this time again 34 in green Mountain, but in 2011 he was more than 4 minutes of the winner Nibali, and this time less than 3 minutes from a very strong Froome, and just 1 minute from the same Nibali, so it is a better performance and a good start of the season for him. I would be more worried for his brother, he was some seconds better than Andy, and he used to be in the front in this races...

I spected more froom Andy acording to his words, that is true, but we will see in Pais Vasco if he is ready to fight for Liege and the Tour this year or not, and maybe before that.

 

[GuyIncognito]

For all you Andy fans, why can't he get his form back? is it all in his head or is it that since FS's enhancement bust he is afraid to enhance himself? or is he in effect done as a contender? or is it all of the above??
I not a fan of his, but he sure has fallen off the cliff so to speak, his tour of Oman results did not shine as it were.

Simple.
To come back from a bad injury you must be very determined and hard working.
According to nearly every coach he's ever had, he's a shining example of laziness

 

[trevim]

Andy was this time again 34 in green Mountain, but in 2011 he was more than 4 minutes of the winner Nibali, and this time less than 3 minutes from a very strong Froome, and just 1 minute from the same Nibali, so it is a better performance and a good start of the season for him. I would be more worried for his brother, he was some seconds better than Andy, and he used to be in the front in this races...

I spected more froom Andy acording to his words, that is true, but we will see in Pais Vasco if he is ready to fight for Liege and the Tour this year or not, and maybe before that.

Frank punctured at the start of the climb so he lost some time there.

 

[Taxus4a]

Frank punctured at the start of the climb so he lost some time there.

Maybe Cancellara and Andy helped him that way...Andy use to hep his brother in most of the races he race along the year...If that is the case, a good performance by Andy, maybe among the top ten strongest in climb he waited for, and at the end go easy with Cancellara.

Or maybe not...

 

[Christian]

So you're on it?

As a rule, I never bet with danes

 

[Netserk]

As a rule, I never bet with danes

Don't worry, there's no hook to it

 

[Afrank]

For all you Andy fans, why can't he get his form back? is it all in his head or is it that since FS's enhancement bust he is afraid to enhance himself? or is he in effect done as a contender? or is it all of the above??
I not a fan of his, but he sure has fallen off the cliff so to speak, his tour of Oman results did not shine as it were.

The answer will vary according to who you ask. One large factor that probably contributed to the first half of his anonymous 2012 was laziness, Then came his crash and injury and it was a big struggle for him to come back from that. I think it was probably a struggle for him both physically and mentally. In early 2013 when he fell into a pattern of dnf'ing every race a large part of that was a lack of confidence IMO.

So in short, this past couple years he's gone through a very rough time physically and mentally; and now as he tries to come out of it new contenders have emerged like Froome and Quintana for example. And the racing hasn't slowed down in that time either. The good news though is that I think he finally does have his confidence back, now hopefully he has the motivation to push himself to return to his previous levels. Because this year is definitely make or break for him.

 

[movingtarget]

The answer will vary according to who you ask. One large factor that probably contributed to the first half of his anonymous 2012 was laziness, Then came his crash and injury and it was a big struggle for him to come back from that. I think it was probably a struggle for him both physically and mentally. In early 2013 when he fell into a pattern of dnf'ing every race a large part of that was a lack of confidence IMO.

So in short, this past couple years he's gone through a very rough time physically and mentally; and now as he tries to come out of it new contenders have emerged like Froome and Quintana for example. And the racing hasn't slowed down in that time either. The good news though is that I think he finally does have his confidence back, now hopefully he has the motivation to push himself to return to his previous levels. Because this year is definitely make or break for him.

The old Schleck and Contador are gone for good I think. If I am proved wrong so be it. I don't see either of them hitting the podium in a grand tour this year but I would like to see Schleck up there battling with the best riders whether he is successful or not. I have always had the feeling with Schleck that it is the mental strength that is lacking. He really needs to show something this year otherwise it's another season lost and for athletes at the elite level, it's a short career at their peak. The opportunities are not limitless and the next generation of talent is already making themselves known.

 

[Jelantik]

The old Schleck and Contador are gone for good I think. If I am proved wrong so be it. I don't see either of them hitting the podium in a grand tour this year but I would like to see Schleck up there battling with the best riders whether he is successful or not. I have always had the feeling with Schleck that it is the mental strength that is lacking. He really needs to show something this year otherwise it's another season lost and for athletes at the elite level, it's a short career at their peak. The opportunities are not limitless and the next generation of talent is already making themselves known.

+1. You were right for the schleck (andy). His mental state is so fragile. I think, it would be hard to see him on the podium again. He was targeting top 10 in Oman, and finished 17 minutes down on the stage that's not even a queen stage. So he got a lot of work to do. Does he has his fire on his belly to transform this year? So far it's hard to tell. But his bro is doing better than him though. Maybe Frank can turn around his year, but to podium in GT, probably not.

On the other hand, Contador, I won't discount him that easy. He is tough mentally, focus and hard working guy. Just for that quality, I believe he can still be in the podium of any GT than Schleck. If he doesn't have mentality of winning or nothing, he probably would have kept his podium spot last year *but that's just a speculation since it didn't end up that way*. Unfortunately, he isn't valverde, "the podium chaser". (nothing wrong with that either). But to say that Contador won't be in the podium, hmm .. i won't be so fast to count him out. At least 'not yet'

 

[movingtarget]

+1. You were right for the schleck (andy). His mental state is so fragile. I think, it would be hard to see him on the podium again. He was targeting top 10 in Oman, and finished 17 minutes down on the stage that's not even a queen stage. So he got a lot of work to do. Does he has his fire on his belly to transform this year? So far it's hard to tell. But his bro is doing better than him though. Maybe Frank can turn around his year, but to podium in GT, probably not.

On the other hand, Contador, I won't discount him that easy. He is tough mentally, focus and hard working guy. Just for that quality, I believe he can still be in the podium of any GT than Schleck. If he doesn't have mentality of winning or nothing, he probably would have kept his podium spot last year *but that's just a speculation since it didn't end up that way*. Unfortunately, he isn't valverde, "the podium chaser". (nothing wrong with that either). But to say that Contador won't be in the podium, hmm .. i won't be so fast to count him out. At least 'not yet'

Yes I forgot that most of Froome's rivals apart from Contador are doing the Giro this year. But still Contador has to do better than last year. Of course it would be more interesting if both Schleck and Contador hit good form in July. I think the Giro will be the better race of the two this year. Rodriguez, Porte, Uran and Quintana will be going all out to win their first grand tour plus there are many other good riders taking part.

 

[Jspear]

Yes I forgot that most of Froome's rivals apart from Contador are doing the Giro this year. But still Contador has to do better than last year. Of course it would be more interesting if both Schleck and Contador hit good form in July. I think the Giro will be the better race of the two this year. Rodriguez, Porte, Uran and Quintana will be going all out to win their first grand tour plus there are many other good riders taking part.

Contador will do better than last year....we haven't seen the last of him. He is a very smart rider who knows how to take advantages everywhere.(stage 13 of last years TdF - look how he won the 2012 Vuelta). He's a completely different rider than Andy who seems to have lost that hunger to win. I don't believe Andy will even make the top 10.

 

[Afrank]

+1. You were right for the schleck (andy). His mental state is so fragile. I think, it would be hard to see him on the podium again. He was targeting top 10 in Oman, and finished 17 minutes down on the stage that's not even a queen stage. So he got a lot of work to do. Does he has his fire on his belly to transform this year? So far it's hard to tell. But his bro is doing better than him though. Maybe Frank can turn around his year, but to podium in GT, probably not.

No he wasn't.

 

[saneguy]

Watching him since last year - In most cases he was on empty tank on all the last climbs. Which is also what happened in Oman. I think the team website said he was done after 140 km. That to me is the worrying sign.

I agree he need not win or aim high in other races but on empty tank with 30+ kms still left? He needs a stage win. Whether he does it on his own or Frank helps him do that I dont know but he needs that booster and he needs it in March / April - much ahead of the tour.

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

If he is done after 140km He is almost as bad as me

 

[Angliru]

+1. You were right for the schleck (andy). His mental state is so fragile. I think, it would be hard to see him on the podium again. He was targeting top 10 in Oman, and finished 17 minutes down on the stage that's not even a queen stage. So he got a lot of work to do. Does he has his fire on his belly to transform this year? So far it's hard to tell. But his bro is doing better than him though. Maybe Frank can turn around his year, but to podium in GT, probably not.

On the other hand, Contador, I won't discount him that easy. He is tough mentally, focus and hard working guy. Just for that quality, I believe he can still be in the podium of any GT than Schleck. If he doesn't have mentality of winning or nothing, he probably would have kept his podium spot last year *but that's just a speculation since it didn't end up that way*. Unfortunately, he isn't valverde, "the podium chaser". (nothing wrong with that either). But to say that Contador won't be in the podium, hmm .. i won't be so fast to count him out. At least 'not yet'

If I'm not mistaken his spoken ambition was to "climb" with the 10 best in the event, not necessarily finish the gc in the top 10.

 

[Never wait]

No he wasn't.

Yes he was, I read it on this site approx. two weeks back.

 

[Afrank]

Yes he was, I read it on this site approx. two weeks back.

Actually, this is what he said.

"I think it's too early to say now who is going to have a good season and who not. This race is about finding the racing rhythm," he said.

"There are some hard mountain stages coming up but I think the usual guys will be in front: Froome and Purito. We'll find out if I can go with them or not... I'm not specifically looking for a result that looks good on paper but I'd hope that on the climbs I can stay with the 10 best in front."

So no, he was not specifically targeting a top 10. It was just a hope that he would climb with the top 10 (climbing with the top 10 is also different then finishing in the top 10 in GC).

 

[LaFlorecita]

If he is done after 140km He is almost as bad as me

Still way better than me though

 

[Publicus]

Actually, this is what he said.



So no, he was not specifically targeting a top 10. It was just a hope that he would climb with the top 10 (climbing with the top 10 is also different then finishing in the top 10 in GC).

A bit of semantics battle IMO. Fact is he didn't get close to his hope/goal.

 

[Never wait]

Actually, this is what he said.



So no, he was not specifically targeting a top 10. It was just a hope that he would climb with the top 10 (climbing with the top 10 is also different then finishing in the top 10 in GC).

Maybe i misunderstood, but if one hopes to climb and finish climbing stages with in the top ten there is a good chance that is what your hoping for at the finish of the event, either way it was not the result he hoped for.

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

Still way better than me though

I bet he is quite alot better than me to, even if his stamina is crap

 

[Afrank]

Maybe i misunderstood, but if one hopes to climb and finish climbing stages with in the top ten there is a good chance that is what your hoping for at the finish of the event, either way it was not the result he hoped for.

I agree, it wasn't the result, or rather performance, he was hoping for. But there was still no specific GC result that he was targeting.

It is true what Publicus pointed out. I'm still waiting for Ardennes and Tour though.