Andy Schleck: "Evans is no threat"

[Benotti69]

I suppose I was unclear there. I was saying there's to my knowledge been no complaints about Saxo driving the pace on the cobbles......

there wouldn't be as it is racing, others felt that they should have kept racing the day before, so i imagine those that suffered on the cobbles were smiling sarcastically at saxo bank, but not speaking out as 'that's racing'.....

it might come back to bite them yet.......

 

[Cerberus]

Cervelo weren't happy and i have read other comments from riders, Nicholas Roche another wrote about in an irish newspaper and others were general comments were there is no way Schlecks, Saxo would stop and wait for others.....as was verified by Sebastian Lang's experience;

Sebastian Lang in OmegaPharmaLotto complains about saxo bank on the same stage not waiting when there was a crash with about 30 riders

"I think it’s unfair to keep on going when none of your own riders are involved in a mass pile-up and then ask others to wait later on in the stage. All the teams have to deal with the difficult conditions and circumstances that can occur on any given stage."

As I said above I can see I was unclear, but I was referring to the difference between the stage 2 and stage 3 crash. I think there's a difference between them and it seem to me the peloton is tacitly agreeing to that. If there was a feeling that the behaviour was hypocritical in in-congruent I'd think there would have been someone who said something and I've hear nothing YMMV.

 

[Benotti69]

As I said above I can see I was unclear, but I was referring to the difference between the stage 2 and stage 3 crash. I think there's a difference between them and it seem to me the peloton is tacitly agreeing to that. If there was a feeling that the behaviour was hypocritical in in-congruent I'd think there would have been someone who said something and I've hear nothing YMMV.

yep you were unclear and still are...

 

[M Sport]

Andy Schleck has said that Evans is no threat for the overall gc at the tdf. Your thoughts on that nasty, malicious, arrogant comment?

Oh, it's all true alright. What Andy doesn't quite realise though, is that he's no threat for the win either.

 

[Cerberus]

In both cases you're just lucky to be in front. And if you don't want the GC to be decided by crashes, and if you're such a fan of fair play and solidarity and whatever, what's the difference between the Ardennes and the cobbles stage? There is none. That's why I hope the Saxos will get their a$$es handed to them in the mountains, preferably in the least fair way possible.

Yes there is a difference. Everyone knew that there could be crashes on the cobbles Saxo was in the front not because they were lucky but because they had the best cobbles team. No one knew there'd be oil on the descent crashing a full third of the Peloton, I don't think I've ever seen anything similar in the Tour, though my memory might be failing me.

If you don't think the difference is large enough to justify a difference standard then that's you opinion and I doubt I can convince you otherwise. If you really can't see any difference, well then I think it's because you don't want to see it and I certainly can't convince you otherwise. In either case I don't think we'll accomplish much by rehashing the same points 20 times over.

 

[SpartacusRox]

You ARE kidding right? He hasn't shown any climbing form? The Giro was a much harder climbing course than this year's tour, and he showed pretty good form on most days there (he did have one bad day which cost him - the rest were losing a minute here, 30 seconds there, or putting time in Strade Briache - I know that's spelt wrong, please restrain from adding comments pointing it out). He was beaten by Basso in very good form in a parcours which very much suited him with the only big TT being a climb. And they were all mountain top finishes in the Giro, I think there's 3 downhills in the TdF which are to Cadel's favour. He's showing the best climbing form of his life.

I think this thread all went a little crazy once the stabbing threats started.

Re check my post you will see that i was talking about Andy not Cadel.

 

[simo1733]

Wait until BMC somehow lets Evans down and he starts whining to the press about how weak his team is. I still don't think Evans has what it takes mentally to win a GT. Seems as soon as something bad happens, he crumbles.

And I'm still not convinced Cadel can climb with AC. His attacks are mediocre at best. He's good at sucking wheels, but his ability to accelerate up steep climbs is completely lacking. He's more of an Ulrich than an Armstrong.

That said, he is a much better rider this year than last.

Totally agree:while cadel is better than before, he can't drop the contenders on the climbs or take enough time in the tt. Also BMC look weak in the mountains compared to Saxo,Shack,Liquigas. podium at best for cuddles

 

[ErmOkk]

It was quite arrogant indeed, but he's right probably. Evans winning a GT is a no go anyway.

 

[saganftw]

andy said evans is no contender because he is confident in his performance...i know you like usuall BS about mutual respect for other contenders but thats just for media...sometimes i think you live in a different world,if you want heart warming scenes watch twilight

 

[El Imbatido]

He is the new Wigans.

I hope Cadel doesn't run out of steam, but I fear Andy is right and ACF will explode, wiping out half of Australia.

Yep......that is why i've been building my own bomb shelter......everyone was saying i was crazy but i knew it would come in handy one of these days

 

[sportzchick]

Good for Evans. Less pressure, higher motivation.

NAIL HAMMER HEAD

Best thing for Cadel is for this to be the general consensus

 

[cyclingmad]

AS is young and says dumb things like Cavendish does. Another dumb comment he made in a stage in the Tour De Suisse not suiting him after breaking away with Gesink then losing time. He said it had been a false flat after the hill rather than downhill. Basically telling his rivals where he feels uncomfortable.

He is probably right in his comments though cant see Evans making top 10 he got a lucky break on the cobbles but will always struggle in the mountains and only in 2007 has delivered a big TT performance. Last year there was little between him and AS in the TTs anyway
If it is a relatively cleaner year then that will also work against him to he is definitely one that has lost ground since coming off the good juice and tighter controls since 2007

 

[Francois the Postman]

Plus he did the pave stage after quite a bad crash the day before. I didn't hear any whining coming from him. Having said that i am not totally convinced of his climbing form, he has shown none all year. But we will soon see!

That's where am I with Andy too. The pave performance suggests he has got his legs in fair shape for his target of the year, but his season up to this point was so sub par that I was starting to wonder if Frank might show up as the stronger of the two, without being any more of a threat to Contador than Frank was last year.

It's one thing to speculate on Contador's shape and the state of his team, but most of those speculations always assumed the rest was fighting fit. In a way I am still waiting to see if the one we tend to finger as the direct challenger is fighting fit. I'm a bit more hopeful than I was a couple of weeks ago. And it will be great to see if a Tour without Frank is a help or a hindrance for Andy.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Well, if he stabs anyone who has another opinion then sooner or later everyone's opinion will be the same as his. It's an ambitious and long-term plan, but I'd like to salute ACF94 for thinking big.

How ironic.

You have serious anger issues.

I hope you did not take me seriously. I originally like Andy Schleck but have lost some respect for him. The "stab him" part was a "tongue and cheek comment". Yikes, I am no murderer. People don't seem to get when I am being sarcastic.

 

[Publicus]

I hope you did not take me seriously. I originally like Andy Schleck but have lost some respect for him. The "stab him" part was a "tongue and cheek comment". Yikes, I am no murderer. People don't seem to get when I am being sarcastic.

You've got to start using those handy smiley emoticons to make it clear. Like:

Cuddles is definitely going to win the TdF.

Looks serious and straightforward. But look how a carefully placed emoticon changes the meaning:

Cuddles is definitely going to win the TdF.

It's clearer that I am being sarcastic in the second post.

 

[auscyclefan94]

You've got to start using those handy smiley emoticons to make it clear. Like:



Looks serious and straightforward. But look how a carefully placed emoticon changes the meaning:


It's clearer that I am being sarcastic in the second post.

Grrrrr! Publicus, you are in denial with the fact Cuddles is a high chance to win this race. The only thing that will stop him is those dirty spaniards who always cheat him with their tatics of trying to make cadel fail any way they can

 

[brianf7]

Andy Schleck has said that Evans is no threat for the overall gc at the tdf. Your thoughts on that nasty, malicious, arrogant comment?

Did he say that before Frank pulled out or after.
They may need each other in a few days

 

[Archibald]

Andy Schleck has said that Evans is no threat for the overall gc at the tdf. Your thoughts on that nasty, malicious, arrogant comment?

Cadel is going to kick Andy's boney ****!

Quote? Source?

 

[Francois the Postman]

Andy Schleck has said that Evans is no threat for the overall gc at the tdf. Your thoughts on that nasty, malicious, arrogant comment?

Cadel is going to kick Andy's boney ****!

My main thought is that it would be helpful if you either stated what was said or, better, give us a link to the source.

On the interwebs I have found that it is usually illuminating to see for myself how far the distance is between claim about what was said and the actual words (often parsed already by reporters who aren't always accurate either), rather than accept the premise in the first place.

I'm not sure if you got round to confirming that the winner of the "guess the source game" was poster #39. If so, that link is sadly (no longer?) working for me.

Judging by the quotes of that article, if all Andy said was that he didn't expect Cadel to be able to follow the leaders in the mountains this year, but he might be proven wrong.....

... I'm struggling to get that link up with arrogant, malicious and nasty without getting a loan of those pink and distorting Cuddles-glasses that you don when you read anything Cadel-related.

My only other thought is that your posts are even more entertaining when I read the huge-outcry-over-Cadel ones in a Dame Edna Everage voice.

I recommend Sam the Eagle for mine.

 

[movingtarget]

If Schleck keeps making comments like about others he may find that next time he falls, others may not be so considerate and sporting to wait for him.

 

[auscyclefan94]

http://tdf.sbs.com.au/tdf2010/news/article/24152/Schleck-plays-down-Evans-threat

Link is there.

 

[Cerberus]

I hope you did not take me seriously. I originally like Andy Schleck but have lost some respect for him. The "stab him" part was a "tongue and cheek comment". Yikes, I am no murderer. People don't seem to get when I am being sarcastic.

I didn't take the comment literally, if nothing else due to the logistic difficulties inherent in intercontinental stabbings, but I didn't think it was particularly funny either. As Publicus says you can use smilies or better yet you can try working on your presentation a bit. The comment I'm going to stab him! still looks more weird and schizophrenic than funny.

ETA. On the actual subject it's a (slightly) stupid comment. If he's right then it doesn't matter and if he's wrong he looks like an idiot, better to let you legs do the talking, personally I doubt Cadel can win and I think Andy Schleck should beat him if he's on form, but Schlecklet might not be on form and even if Cadel just gets third that's still a respectable GC result. I don't know whether Evans will podium, but I think he's a definite candidate with his decent climbing good TT and lead over all his competitors, depends on his recovery from the Giro of cause.

 

[Publicus]

I didn't take the comment literally, if nothing else due to the logistic difficulties inherent in intercontinental stabbings, but I didn't think it was particularly funny either. As Publicus says you can use smilies or better yet you can try working on your presentation a bit. The comment I'm going to stab him! still looks more weird and schizophrenic than funny.

I would have gone with a

 

[Archibald]

....you have shown that you always jump to conclusions and try to attack posters.

nah fence, but that's a bit of the pot n kettle thing...

 

[van nelle]

Who needs one? we make the news here!!

) true

+ we don't need race even, we know everything important already. stupid riders can just make mess of it