Frank Schleck's comments

[airstream]

Respect towards riders was thrown out of the window on the forum a long ago.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Thank you for posting this! My reaction to Fränks statement was also that he respects Contador as the best, chapeau Fränk. A pity this place is so filled with hatred

That isn't true. He says that Alberto is too bad to do the Giro-Tour double.

But what ****es me off most is that he's using it as an excuse. Schlecks are now even using other riders performances as excuses.

 

[taiwan]

Heeey. There's nothing wrong with calling riders by their first name.

I do it with Contador - "Bert" - but it's more of a nickname which amuses me. Do it with Andy Schleck occasionally, but that's to differentiate.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Respect towards riders was thrown out of the window on the forum a long ago.

That's utter BS. Just because not all of us love and worship Andy, doesn't mean that we don't have respect for riders.

 

[Havetts]

Respect towards riders was thrown out of the window on the forum a long ago.

Hit the nail right on the head.

Pissing contest between blind fanboys & fangirls.. its been tiresome for a while.

 

[c&cfan]

Respect towards riders was thrown out of the window on the forum a long ago.

It does not matter if you are a rider or a doctor or even a poster.

if someone is stupid, ignorant, moron etc it deserves to be treated as such. the fact that he choose to be cyclist (a hard sport, true. maybe the hardest) and was lucky with his genes does not change that, just like the fact the if someone chooses to only post useless posts about "i remember why i ignored you" or "OMG!! ANOTHER FANGIRL VS FANBOY!DISGUSTING" without adding something useful for the discussion deserves to be treated as the others mentioned above.

Andy says a lot of stupid things so he deserves to be treated as a stupid person. sometimes he is an hypocrite, so he deserves to be treated as one. so what? no one is being rude, only honest.

 

[roundabout]

I care because half of this thread is now a fight between you and Publicus.

You're right. I should have read his brilliant "justification" earlier and the "fight" would have been just a quarter of a thread long.

But, I admit, it's fun watching him dig his hole further and be unable to resist having the last word.

 

[LaFlorecita]

I do it with Contador - "Bert" - but it's more of a nickname which amuses me. Do it with Andy Schleck occasionally, but that's to differentiate.

Ya Bert is a nickname.. Just as Berto and Bertie.. I call him Alberto and sometimes Berto.

Also I call Andy "Andy" and Fränk "Fränk" or "Frankie" and the two of them together Frandy. I don't mind Publicus calling them René and Raymond.

 

[LaFlorecita]

It does not matter if you are a rider or a doctor.

if someone is stupid, ignorant, moron etc it deserves to be treated as such. the fact that he choose to be cyclist (a hard sport, true. maybe the hardest) and was lucky with his genes does not change that.

That is correct.

Still, I do respect these guys for what they do. Just in what they do (cycling) there are things I respect and disrespect. If that makes sense.

 

[roundabout]

There's a difference between being genuinely moronic and a Pavlovian reaction to twist every quote that has Schleck preceding or following it.

 

[airstream]

It does not matter if you are a rider or a doctor or even a poster.

if someone is stupid, ignorant, moron etc it deserves to be treated as such. the fact that he choose to be cyclist (a hard sport, true. maybe the hardest) and was lucky with his genes does not change that

Everyone who reasons this way is always as many times as hypocritical and poisonous than any whom he dares to criticize. OK, I'd better refrain from talking to you.

 

[Mellow Velo]

Is it actually worth posting an opinion amongst this mess?


Since Kim Andersen is also singing from the same hymn sheet, I'd
suggest this has as much to do with team politic, as physical conditioning.

If two fairly steady Giro weeks put him too far ahead of scheduled, he could have:
a) opted out of Switzerland.
b) opted out any time after Verbier.
c) raced like Andy and selected a stage to give it full gas.

Instead, he races the race very hard indeed.

I'd say it's part power struggle, part camouflage cover story.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Who cares about Schleck's babbling . On the road he looked pretty good in Switzerland and he will be ready in July. Will it be enough for a podium? I don't think so, but he will try hard.

 

[webbie146]

Is it actually worth posting an opinion amongst this mess?


Since Kim Andersen is also singing from the same hymn sheet, I'd
suggest this has as much to do with team politic, as physical conditioning.

If two fairly steady Giro weeks put him too far ahead of scheduled, he could have:
a) opted out of Switzerland.
b) opted out any time after Verbier.
c) raced like Andy and selected a stage to give it full gas.

Instead, he races the race very hard indeed.

I'd say it's part power struggle, part camouflage cover story.

Johan wanted him to ride Tour de Suisse

 

[airstream]

Andersen just tries to enlighten psychological pressure around Frank. If they'd known that too hard Swiss could interfere doing well in the Tour, Frank would've ridden differently.

 

[norwegian]

Roundabout is right though..

I second this.

 

[Captain Sensible]

To me he and his brother come across like privilege upper class children who let some poor working class kids play with them but when they find out they are much better than they are and won't give them their ball back go running off crying .

They both have talent but just don't seem to want to train and work that little bit harder to win and any little set back seems to derail their whole season.

 

[Angliru]

Andersen just tries to enlighten psychological pressure around Frank. If they'd known that too hard Swiss could interfere doing well in the Tour, Frank would've ridden differently.

Could the fact that they're starved for results be the reason he raced to win instead of using the event as prep for the Tour? It seems with Andy out and Kloden's actual ability to deliver the goods in the Tour a 50/50 proposition, that they'd have been wise to save Frank. Not that he actually has a chance to win with the amount of TT km's. Supposedly these (Frank and the team's management) are the experts, not us and they seemingly would know best what would be ideal for Frank if they wanted him at his best for the Tour. How can they have gotten the timing for his Tour peak so wrong, such that after the TdS he's stating his doubts in being able to be competitive for the 2nd and 3rd weeks? Seems like a major error on his and the team management's part.

 

[avanti]

Realizing the time trials do not suit him perhaps Frank Schleck is aiming for the KOM title this year or a stage win.

 

[Publicus]

[snip]

You're a grade A ******.

See here's the problem, you've decided what you believe and don't want to accept what I am telling you. And thats your perogative, but it makes it rather difficult to advance beyond this rather inane topic. In effort to do that, I'm going to decline to respond to the "substantive portion" of your comment. I try to engage folks on the level they engage me (to an extent, I've still managed not to respond in kind to your continual personal invectives ). It's a cycling forum, it's really not that serious.

Publicus is latin for "of or by the people/public." I use it as a nod toward Alexander Hamilton's nom de plume Publius (which was a nod toward Publius Valerius Publicola (combination of Publius and Publicola)). Hamilton used his nom de plume during the Federalist Papers--which obviously this forum is not and nor am I producing prose in the quality produced by Hamilton. Not really anything to do with cycling of course--more about my opinionated nature.

EDIT: Didn't mean to cause such a stir by referring to Messers Schleck and Schleck by their middle names. It really isn't that serious folks.

 

[Where's My Sippy Cup?]

Frank is a Wuss

So Frank doesn't want to take any responsibility for the team in the TdF. What a wuss. And with Horner and his good buddy Klodi together again, this is shaping up as another disaster for Team Radio Shack Nissan Trek.

 

[mewmewmew13]

So Frank doesn't want to take any responsibility for the team in the TdF. What a wuss. And with Horner and his good buddy Klodi together again, this is shaping up as another disaster for Team Radio Shack Nissan Trek.

Well to be honest did anyone ever think otherwise for them?

I feel sorry for many of the riders on the dysfunctional team.

 

[rzombie1988]

LOL at the Contador comparisons. No Frank, just no. You didn't race the whole Giro, you didn't make huge attacks each day, you weren't even in the top 5 and you didn't take on the most mountainous edition of the Giro ever.

I won't be surprised if there is another phantom injury before or during the Tour. I can see Frank totally claiming to be fine just in-time to help his baby sister lose the Vuelta to Contador.

I used to be pro-Schlecks and anti-Contador, but I did a 180. The Schlecks need to get a publicist and never speak on record again without coaching.

 

[patrick767]

he doesn't want to be captain because he doesn't want to be blamed when he loses. he's already a loser, imo.

erader

I don't know if that's the reason, but if so, it's even more pathetic. Blame for the loss is all part of being the leader. To have the drive to win, you also have to suck it up when you lose. If Cadel Evans fails to defend his TdF title, short of a tour ending crash that's not his fault, much of the blame will fall on him. I suspect he's fine with that. He wants to win. The same goes for Wiggins. Expectations are getting huge for him. If he disappoints, primary blame will be on him. Oh, and Wiggins isn't crying about how he can't possibly keep this good form for so long. He just keeps racing to win.

IMO a not quite 100% Frank Schleck still has a better chance in a GT than Klodi and Horner. Maybe that's not the case in a one week race, but for a GT the latter two just don't have enough gas anymore. Schleck's unwillingness to take leadership is just sad.

 

[Publicus]

I don't know if that's the reason, but if so, it's even more pathetic. Blame for the loss is all part of being the leader. To have the drive to win, you also have to suck it up when you lose. If Cadel Evans fails to defend his TdF title, short of a tour ending crash that's not his fault, much of the blame will fall on him. I suspect he's fine with that. He wants to win. The same goes for Wiggins. Expectations are getting huge for him. If he disappoints, primary blame will be on him. Oh, and Wiggins isn't crying about how he can't possibly keep this good form for so long. He just keeps racing to win.

IMO a not quite 100% Frank Schleck still has a better chance in a GT than Klodi and Horner. Maybe that's not the case in a one week race, but for a GT the latter two just don't have enough gas anymore. Schleck's unwillingness to take leadership is just sad.

Here are his words:

In addition, “I don't want to be named as the leader, because if I put in a disappointing performance, then everyone can afterwards complain that I was not good enough. "