Andy Schleck?

[ManInFull]

I don't know where you're from but my primary access to viewing races is through Versus and their love for Andy is for me, pretty nauseating, as is their obsession with Jens.

I also have "relentless attacks" on record on Evans but no one has ever accused me of such nonsense as you have. If you have issue with my opinion
feel free to utilize the User CP if it interferes with your enjoying the forum.

I feel the same way about Versus' lovefest with Andy. But, it's not surprising because all of the LiveStrong fans went to Andy when Contador didn't kiss Lance's a** in the 2009 TdF. I even heard that they were angry that Specialized sponsored AC's team.

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

I think that Andy has overcooked it in his prep for the TdF, thus far he has "raced" 42 days(well 41 as he abandoned the GP Almeria) , with a possible 5 more "race" days before the start of the Tour.

Just wondering if any other rider, came to the Tour and was there or there abouts after the same season Andy's had this year, would everyone accept that and say awesome performance got his season's race prep spot on or would there be doubts?

What season? What has he won this year? Doing the minimum to get to a finish line then drinking the night away should not count as a day of racing. El Pisolero has race days. Cuddles has race days. Even Bottle has race days. Little Orphan Andy has biking vacation days.

 

[ManInFull]

What season? What has he won this year? Doing the minimum to get to a finish line then drinking the night away should not count as a day of racing. El Pisolero has race days. Cuddles has race days. Even Bottle has race days. Little Orphan Andy has biking vacation days.[/QUOTE

However, I suspect that he will be on the podium next month, especially if this kind of preparation is normal operating procedure for him.

 

[Edgar Poe]

The tour is not two mountain climbs, it 3000 km of racing at a high tempo including several mountains, until you've done that your comparison will have no value

The tour is a grueling endurance event, but the human body and spirit could do it without dope. Times would be slower, but the drama would still be there. There are other extreme endurance events - there is the deca ironman. And the Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei run 52.5 miles everyday for 100 days on rice and tea.

Edit: Just noticed that there is now a double deca ironman event. That's a total of 76km swim, 3600km bike and 844km run in 20 days. Thats pretty intense.

http://www.multisport.com.mx/deca\double2011.htm

 

[Roninho]

The tour is a grueling endurance event, but the human body and spirit could do it without dope. Times would be slower, but the drama would still be there.

Exactly. There have been huge dope-issues in 100m running. It isn't about the terrain why riders dope.

 

[Big Doopie]

Don't agree. They don't dope because of the terrain, they dope because they want to win and/or because there is so much doping they cannot compete without dope. If they only doped because of the terrain then nobody would dope in 100m sprint because any athlete can run 100 meters.
And actually imo any professional cyclist can do 20 mountain stages without serious healt issues (Heck even i with my 105 kg football body did 2 mountain climbs without a stop).

100% agree.

And I would argue it would be far more exciting than the robotic blood doped riding where people just drop off on the last climb depending on what hematologist they can afford.

 

[inri2000]

Exactly. There have been huge dope-issues in 100m running. It isn't about the terrain why riders dope.

Of course doping exists in all sports, but if you ask a doctor if he thinks riding the Tour (with a high tempo) is unhealthy he would say yes.

 

[Roninho]

Of course doping exists in all sports, but if you ask a doctor if he thinks riding the Tour (with a high tempo) is unhealthy he would say yes.

Exactly. Just like he probably would say that being a professional soccer player will likely be unhealthy for your knees and ankles. Pro sports isn't "healthy".

But that wasn't the point. You make a link between doping and the terrain (saying it's pointless to complain about doping if at the same time one supports extra mountain stages). The riders don't dope because they feel that riding the TDF is unhealthy. If that was the case Riis wouldn't have doped himself up to above 60%, which is very dangerous.

 

[Cloxxki]

With blood doping now even becoming well known among the general public, what will riders do this year? How to get away from the races and not be noticed? Hotel rooms seem to be unsafe now.
And what about teh bags, replaced by glass bottles? Will Ketchup become the favorite food topping this TdF?

One fill-up more or less could decide the TdF between Schleck and Contador.

 

[Exroadman24902]

I find Andy Schlek's form odd. He's been drained of something

 

[VeloCity]

Don't agree. They don't dope because of the terrain, they dope because they want to win and/or because there is so much doping they cannot compete without dope. If they only doped because of the terrain then nobody would dope in 100m sprint because any athlete can run 100 meters.
And actually imo any professional cyclist can do 20 mountain stages without serious healt issues (Heck even i with my 105 kg football body did 2 mountain climbs without a stop).

Well yes and no. Terrain does come into play in the sense that riders dope not only because they want to win or to hold on to their job, but like anyone else, they want to suffer as little as possible. And the best way to reduce the suffering of climbing mountains day after day on a bike is to boost both your strength and recovery ability, and doping is a convenient, "easy" shortcut to that end.

 

[hfer07]

I find Andy Schlek's form odd. He's been drained of something

he might have "drained" too much "blood" lately...

 

[Exroadman24902]

I'd guess this glaring fluctuation in form will have brought him heavy scrutiny from the random testers. While Andy has no previous, his brother appeared to be in the midst of doing a deal with a blood doping Doctor so I very much see the shlecks as not people I would ever be a huge fan of

 

[Escarabajo]

he might have "drained" too much "blood" lately...

The problem is that with the effort that he is trying to do in Switzerland he could set up some alarms if volume and red blood cell count drop too much. Just saying.

Better do it while not racing. We did discuss the same issues with Contador last year during the Dauphine and he ended up being not as fitted as seen now or in 2009.

 

[gatete]

I think the comparison between AS lack of form and AC unfitted form are so abysmal, the reason why I keep questioning why Andy comes 2nd right after AC, if anything I think 2nd place should go to Evans, (yes I know he falters in every GT but to me it makes more sense)

 

[usedtobefast]

i think he is not inspired to race. he is fit. the competition is not making him "go for it" he seems bored,imo.

 

[Big Doopie]

...the schlecks are the new worst thing for cycling.

the time trial today showed their natural abilities. frank lost 3+ mins did worse than TJVG (who road most of the TT on his road bike and must have had a fall/mechanical). andy clearly was trying as he checked his time after rolling across the finish.

when they suddenly "gain form" in just a couple of weeks they will again be ridiculing cycling fans.

this is precisely why doping destroys any sense of hierarchy in the sport. imagine if the schlecks disbursed huge amounts of time in the tour itts (and imagine if the tour had a normal amount of itts for that matter) we wouldn't even be talking about these frauds. they wouldn't be even thought as top twenty material. and what a joke frank actually was using and paying fuentes. and his brother didn't know...please. and he never actually really used him for blood doping...please.

i hate those frauds almost as much as The Fraud himself. they continue to destroy the sport of cycling.

schlecks perfs today as telling as radioshacks -- i mean, forEffsSake -- who the Eff is Nelson Oliveira!?!?

what a joke.

 

[Steel4Ever]

Don't worry....all the dope in the world won't make Baby Andy a better shifter.


How many "mechanicals" had he had this year so far?

 

[bobs nob]

first. there is no way schlecklet is clean.

if there was no blood doping contadope would wallop schlecklet. contadope -- at least -- wins throughout the year. schlecklet's performance at the vuelta last year where he was nowhere -- despite stated intentions to help his brother -- was stunningly awful. no one dips in form that much without help. he was not soft-pedalling this year in california. however, i fully expect him to be absolutely flying up bigger mountains come the tour.

schlecklet's astounding jumps in form are completely ridiculous and are endemic of the farce that pro cycling has become.

He is as clean as all the other guys on the pdium.... Likable enough guy as far as I am concerned (I get the feeling few here agree with me)

He says what he thinks, sometime without thinking (and I know no one here ever does that) which fans seem to be OK with for guys who are in never in contention, then it seems the same words that come out of contenders mouths are fodder for criticism and haters. We fans are the funny ones more so than the participants!

It is still going to be fun to root against him just like I did last year. With LA finally out of the way, this race could be the mano a mano AC vs AS battle...or it could be all anti climax.

I still think AC was in poor form and AS mostly caught good breaks, 'cept for throwing his own chain. We shall see rather shortly, I sense a lot of anticipation building.

As for the unspoken question...or was it spoken...of course he's dirty as hel!!...all of the top guys are.

 

[iZnoGouD]

who the Eff is Nelson Oliveira!?!?

what a joke.

Nelson Oliveira is a three-time national time trial champion. In July 2010 he took the silver medal at the U23 European Road Championships in Ankara as well as the bronze medal at the European TT Championships. Later, in October, he finished 4th in the U23 TT World Championship in Melbourne. One year earlier he was second - behind Jack Bobridge - at the U23 TT World Championship in Mendrisio.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/teamradioshack/riders_NelsonOliveira/#ixzz1PqzaBOmI

 

[Big Doopie]

fair enough. i stand corrected on nelson.

then all i'll point out is he seems to be doing far better than bobridge now (over a minute on him) -- who was a much more heralded rider.

unfortunately, seems par for the course for shackadope.

cheers.

 

[born65]

I followed Andy the last 10 Years and I am pretty sure he isn't a doper.

I started to follow him during school time. He even wasn't able to cheat during class papers.

Andy was a nice pupil and still is a nice person, nowadays he is a bit arrogant due to the fact that he is overhyped in Lux.

He likes to go fishing, being out in the nature, hanging around in bars or just going to the pub and having a talk with the old people who discuss life in the pubs. So sometimes he is drunk, looses his driving license and ….

He is absolutely not interested in doping as when he would try, he is just unable not to tell nobody and it would come out immediately. He isn't even able to manage to dope.

Even Kim Andersen sometimes get's nervous with him as Andy isn't even able to prepare well for a race. Still he forget's to pack his bag properly or he forget's his bicycle or his wheel, his helmet … (It is a bit better now, not like in the Giro when he misses the start, still talking to the podium girls). Andersen has to check his preparation.

All this make's him symphatic, but he is a chaot and need to train during races, as otherwise he is not enough concentrated.

Andy has one biological advantage. He is able to recover very well after an race and that's why in the third tour week he has an advantage over the other riders.

I am quite sure that he is riding clean, he is just unable to dope (sorry Andy, but I believe he isn't clever enough to dope)

 

[Runitout]

I followed Andy the last 10 Years and I am pretty sure he isn't a doper.

I started to follow him during school time. He even wasn't able to cheat during class papers.

Andy was a nice pupil and still is a nice person, nowadays he is a bit arrogant due to the fact that he is overhyped in Lux.

He likes to go fishing, being out in the nature, hanging around in bars or just going to the pub and having a talk with the old people who discuss life in the pubs. So sometimes he is drunk, looses his driving license and ….

He is absolutely not interested in doping as when he would try, he is just unable not to tell nobody and it would come out immediately. He isn't even able to manage to dope.

Even Kim Andersen sometimes get's nervous with him as Andy isn't even able to prepare well for a race. Still he forget's to pack his bag properly or he forget's his bicycle or his wheel, his helmet … (It is a bit better now, not like in the Giro when he misses the start, still talking to the podium girls). Andersen has to check his preparation.

All this make's him symphatic, but he is a chaot and need to train during races, as otherwise he is not enough concentrated.

Andy has one biological advantage. He is able to recover very well after an race and that's why in the third tour week he has an advantage over the other riders.

I am quite sure that he is riding clean, he is just unable to dope (sorry Andy, but I believe he isn't clever enough to dope)

Nice guys dope. Tyler is apparently a nice guy. Didn't stop him from doping.

Some absolute *******s are clean.

I have no idea if Andy is doping, but I doubt you do either. Until recently, Tyler hadn't told his own kith and kin what he had done over the years. I doubt you need to be smart to dope, either. Just do as you are told, without asking questions, and you're already there.

I hope you're right. I am glad that Andy is a nice guy who is a bit absent-minded. But I don't think that means anything regarding his cleanliness or otherwise.

 

[Midnightfright]

I followed Andy the last 10 Years and I am pretty sure he isn't a doper.

I started to follow him during school time. He even wasn't able to cheat during class papers.

Andy was a nice pupil and still is a nice person, nowadays he is a bit arrogant due to the fact that he is overhyped in Lux.

He likes to go fishing, being out in the nature, hanging around in bars or just going to the pub and having a talk with the old people who discuss life in the pubs. So sometimes he is drunk, looses his driving license and ….

He is absolutely not interested in doping as when he would try, he is just unable not to tell nobody and it would come out immediately. He isn't even able to manage to dope.

Even Kim Andersen sometimes get's nervous with him as Andy isn't even able to prepare well for a race. Still he forget's to pack his bag properly or he forget's his bicycle or his wheel, his helmet … (It is a bit better now, not like in the Giro when he misses the start, still talking to the podium girls). Andersen has to check his preparation.

All this make's him symphatic, but he is a chaot and need to train during races, as otherwise he is not enough concentrated.

Andy has one biological advantage. He is able to recover very well after an race and that's why in the third tour week he has an advantage over the other riders.

I am quite sure that he is riding clean, he is just unable to dope (sorry Andy, but I believe he isn't clever enough to dope)

Maybe that's why he complains when big bro frank isn't there because he can't remember to dope of his own accord. He does come across as a bit disorganized etc and if anything that makes him more endearing.

 

[El Pistolero]

Skipping nations for altitude training aka we're going to dope.