Is Andy Schleck being criticised too much lately?

[rzombie1988]

I was talking more about Contador vs Evans. Andy vs Cadel comes down to how much time can Andy gain on Cadel in the mountains and how much time will he lose in the TT.

Thoughts on Andy vs others:
Contador - Won't beat him. Even if he beats Contador somehow in the mountains, it's not going to be enough when it comes to the TT. However, no one beats Contador at his best.
Evans - I would usually pick Andy over Cadel but with the lack of big mountain stages this year, Cadel could hang on again. I don't think he's going to be able to get enough time over him in the mountains and I don't think Contador's going to need to attack as much, which will hurt Andy(since he only follows Contador).
Menchov - If Menchov doesn't lose time for stupid reasons on the easy stages, I'll take Menchov above him. It's such a shame that Menchov didn't get in last years Tour as he would have had a good chance. I'm sure he would have lost time with everyone else though in the beginning.
Wiggins - I think he can beat Wiggins, but it depends on which Wiggins shows up. Last year's Wiggins looked great, but Andy has beaten Wiggo all the other times.
Samu - I really like Samu, but I'm waiting for him to hit his full potential. I think Andy should be able to beat him.

So yeah, I'm looking at Andy around 4th-6th depending on the circumstances. I used to be a little bit of an Andy supporter, but his lack of TT improvements, his questionable tactics and his mouth has changed things.

I should note that I'm expecting alot of the big names to stick together in a bunch this year. If someone can get a big breakaway in the early stages, they might be able to hang on with a decent TT performance.

 

[HL2037]

I wish some of the Andy supporters would chime in with their perspectives because I know while I may try to see things without a certain bias, it's always good to hear a different viewpoint. Maybe I'm not being completely fair to the Schlecks and don't realize it.

I'm not a supporter of Andy anymore, but I will say in defence of the Schlecks that they probably don't have much of a choise in these matters. I am guessing that these stupid comments they have been giving lately are result of some sort of media training in the PR school of Johan Bruyneel. They used to be well behaved and slightly goofy kids from Luxemburg, now they are suddently talking smack like they were heavyweight champions before the big prize fight. I don't buy it.

 

[Parrulo]

I'm not a supporter of Andy anymore, but I will say in defence of the Schlecks that they probably don't have much of a choise in these matters. I am guessing that these stupid comments they have been giving lately are result of some sort of media training in the PR school of Johan Bruyneel. They used to be well behaved and slightly goofy kids from Luxemburg, now they are suddently talking smack like they were heavyweight champions before the big prize fight. I don't buy it.

they have been saying this kind of stuff( mostly about the the 2008/09 tours) for years, long before they had anything to do with the hog

 

[Angliru]

I'm not a supporter of Andy anymore, but I will say in defence of the Schlecks that they probably don't have much of a choise in these matters. I am guessing that these stupid comments they have been giving lately are result of some sort of media training in the PR school of Johan Bruyneel. They used to be well behaved and slightly goofy kids from Luxemburg, now they are suddently talking smack like they were heavyweight champions before the big prize fight. I don't buy it.

Andy's assertion that he was the world's best climber of course was made in 2009. Frank's (and Andy's) issues with Sastre and his "stealing" the Tour from Frank are of course all the way from 2008. Chaingate and the inability to just let it go really has no connection to Bruyneel. Bruyneel is a very late comer to this circus act and apparently he has yet to have a positive effect on their pr skills.

They seem to take no responsibility for their own failures or should I say inability to win what has been the most important event on their own personal calenders. Normally one would look at their records with a sense of accomplishment and potential but their attitudes of lingering bitterness towards those that defeated them at the Tour (with the exception of Evans) can't be thought of as a positve attribute. There is no way that a rational person would think that Frank had a chance to win the Tour at the base of Alpe d'Huez and Andy had already blown his chance to even finish in the top ten of the gc.

Most gc guys would love to have Andy's talent but what, as far as big wins does he have to show for it? For the life of me, I can't understand how someone with his talent can simply fart around for most of the season and then suddenly decide for less than 4 weeks to make his presence known.

We often hear Contador and Evans and even Basso talk of how they wouldn't want to show up to a race to simply ride around simply for training. They feel a need to compete and to give the fans a show. In this way they are showing the sport the ultimate respect that they can. Andy on the other hand...... People would rag on Ullrich about his being lazy but he would at minimum show up at other stage races and give his best in the ITT, showing his form was there.

They take "keeping it real" to a whole new level of stupid.

I have to ask you HL2037, what exactly caused you to no longer be an Andy supporter?

 

[No_Balls]

Exactly. whats new?

I remember a certain Tour (last year) when they moaned about 2010. And then it was the thing with: not performing good when raining, on the descent (and that they should be banned because Andy "wasnt good enough"), then the mountains wasnt steep, he also had to walk trough a restaurant with a urine sample and pointed fingers because of that.

Ok, the hog-effect could well be that they are the best thing since bread and butter, but the reputation as talkers was firmly in place.

Did you know his school teacher said he'd walk to Paris if Andy wins leTour. As he caught a young Andy staring out a window in class and asked him what's he gonna do when older. Andy said win LeTour. That was when the bet was made. They interviewed the teacher 2 year ago and he was buying new boots....!! But they're gathering cobwebbs at the minute. I supose that was the birth of his megalamaina.

Never heard of the story. Great stuff.

I think the teacher might well put his boots in the closet.

Contador at full strength will have nothing to worry about with Cadel. I watched the last few tdf's this summer and before on almost every big climb, Cadel was dropped by Contador without any problems.

I agree. If everything works out well, this tour is in the bag.

they have been saying this kind of stuff( mostly about the the 2008/09 tours) for years, long before they had anything to do with the hog

 

[HL2037]

they have been saying this kind of stuff( mostly about the the 2008/09 tours) for years, long before they had anything to do with the hog

The nonsense about "being attacked by a teammate" is new, I am pretty sure of that. It seems that those evil Spaniards do that all the time. It's about time somebody kicked. their. ***. Here is a tall blonde duke of Luxembourg wearing a yellow rubber bracelet. He will save the free world and dominate the peloton with lazer like focus, suitcase of courage and magical wind tunnel. Good vs. evil, black vs. white, anything else is too complicated for the american viewers, apparently.

 

[Parrulo]

The nonsense about "being attacked by a teammate" is new, I am pretty sure of that. It seems that those evil Spaniards do that all the time. It's about time somebody kicked. their. ***. Here is a tall blonde duke of Luxembourg wearing a yellow rubber bracelet. He will save the free world and dominate the peloton with lazer like focus, suitcase of courage and magical wind tunnel. Good vs. evil, black vs. white, anything else is too complicated for the american viewers, apparently.

the being attacked by a team mate is actually the oldest one right after the 08 tour like angliru said

 

[HL2037]

I have to ask you HL2037, what exactly caused you to no longer be an Andy supporter?

I explained this earlier in another thread:

I used to be a Schleck fangirl. I even defended their right to leave Bjarne Riis to start their new team based in their homecountry. But I didn't like the way they did it, I don't see they have a reason to bear a grudge against Bjarne, he did a lot for them. And the way they behaved in the 2011 tour, Andy in particular, I didn't find charming at all. Bad excuses, lack of respect for the competition, Andy feeling entitled to the victory. I think Andy looked more and more like a spoiled brat.

Then the Radioshack merger came, and that was when I lost any sympathy for the Schlecks. Many people, not only riders but other staff too, had left good secure jobs to help form team Leopard. They trusted that it would exist for at least four years as promised. Less than a year later they are out of job while the fickle Schleck brothers are praising Bruyneels good qualities as a DS in the press. They don't care that they let all the people down who believed in them. They just want to be big in the US.

Needless to say that my disappointment has not diminished.

 

[Angliru]

The hits keep coming:

The Moncoutie statement by Andy: "He's got something wrong in his head. He could be a Tour contender." This was what, 2 years ago?

The Vuelta 2009 incident where Andy was supposed to be riding in support of Frank's efforts to make-up for crashing out of the Tour. Half-a$$ed efforts on the road followed by late nite drinking with Stuey, interrupted by Riis' surprise visit to Spain. Yanked from the Vuelta, Andy never admitted to his fault in the matter only that it was unfair and unreasonable.

The word "unprofessional" constantly comes to mind when I think of his approach and attitude towards his profession compared to riders like Basso, Evans, Contador, Sastre etc... Maybe this explains their success and Andy's lack there of.

 

[HL2037]

the being attacked by a team mate is actually the oldest one right after the 08 tour like angliru said

It was team decision that Sastre should have first try on Alpe d'Huez. Fränk knew this beforehand. Even if he didn't agree on the decision, he was by no means attacked by Sastre, only degraded by the DS. Can you find a quote from 2008 where Fränk claims being attacked by a teammate?

 

[Angliru]

The nonsense about "being attacked by a teammate" is new, I am pretty sure of that. It seems that those evil Spaniards do that all the time. It's about time somebody kicked. their. ***. Here is a tall blonde duke of Luxembourg wearing a yellow rubber bracelet. He will save the free world and dominate the peloton with lazer like focus, suitcase of courage and magical wind tunnel. Good vs. evil, black vs. white, anything else is too complicated for the american viewers, apparently.

Yes that is the first I heard of it in that form. There have been different versions of what transpired on that fateful day:

-That it was a team strategy for Sastre to attack first followed by Andy and lastly by Frank once the opposition had been softened up.

-That Sastre asked if he could attack via radio and Riis gave the okay, thus angering Frank and Andy.

If one were to look at the Schleck's body language at the end of that stage one would think that the team had just lost the Tour.

 

[HL2037]

Yes that is the first I heard of it in that form. There have been different versions of what transpired on that fateful day:

-That it was a team strategy for Sastre to attack first followed by Andy and lastly by Frank once the opposition had been softened up.

-That Sastre asked if he could attack via radio and Riis gave the okay, thus angering Frank and Andy.

If one were to look at the Schleck's body language at the end of that stage one would think that the team had just lost the Tour.

Spaniards are taking the place of the French as the villains of cycling. Mark my words!

 

[No_Balls]

Spaniards are taking the place of the French as the villains of cycling. Mark my words!

And reasons for that: more successful.

 

[boardhanger]

Spaniards are taking the place of the French as the villains of cycling. Mark my words!

Spaniards have always flicked foreign riders to better a non-teammate spaniard. I think they have always been villains.

 

[La Pandera]

Spaniards have always flicked foreign riders to better a non-teammate spaniard. I think they have always been villains.

...and that makes them villains? Is this exclusive to Spaniards or have other nationalities also aided their fellow countrymen that were on opposing teams? Hincapie/Armstrong circa Tour 2009 is a fine example.

 

[Sylvester]

Spaniards have always flicked foreign riders to better a non-teammate spaniard. I think they have always been villains.

Horrillo wrote about this and claimed exactly the opposite. "If a Vuelta break consists of a majority of Spaniards, a cycling law states it's always a foreigner who wins", or something like that.

 

[The Hitch]

the being attacked by a team mate is actually the oldest one right after the 08 tour like angliru said

As issoisso mentioned earlier in this thread, Frank had not allowed Sastre to attack on an earlier stage and got rightfully shouted at by Riis for it.

TO now complain that Sastre attacked afterwards, the balls on this ***.

Little meglomaniacs believing everyone should do what they say.

2008 was the Tour of good vs evil. Sastre who represents so much about what is good about the sport, vs the pure evil of the Schlecks, and Evans a bit of both

There are so many ridiculous quotes from this article that I'll just line up a few of my favs:

Andy: "For me, tactically, we didn't make any mistakes at the last Tour

Frank: "There was no one else who took things into their own hands, other than us. Who else attacked? Name one other rider. For three years, everyone's just been looking to us to attack. Who else is attacking?"

Frank (talking to the interviewer and Andy regarding the 2010 Tour): "It was really just the one stage that made all the difference, when Contador attacked when you dropped your chain, Andy. I mean if I'd been there..."

Strangely the interviewer states that "For them, the past is the past...." Which of course it is not since they can't seem to get over Sastre winning the Tour as evidenced by this quote from Frank:

"....I was in yellow on Alpe d'Huez and my own teammate attacked me" says Frank referring to the 2008 Tour's overall winner, his CSC teammate Carlos Sastre. "I've never seen that before--you're in yellow and your own teammate attacks you. So that was a disappointment. Maybe at the very end it was right, as Carlos won the Tour that year, but still today I wish that someone else would have won it. I could have won the Tour that year too. But you turn the page and move forward."

Just sad. I'm left a bit speechless by these two characters. I can only wish an epic fail in all their future sporting endeavors.

What a disgrace.

Angirilu my man. I think you should start a thread titled "Schleck dumb comments", and have it as an anthology of all the disgraceful things they say.

Have mods lock it and be able to edit it everytime new material comes out.

Preferably have it as a sticky during the TDF.

Much like the transfers thread luckyboy had that was locked and only got edited when new transfers were made.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

As issoisso mentioned earlier in this thread, Frank had not allowed Sastre to attack on an earlier stage and got rightfully shouted at by Riis for it.

TO now complain that Sastre attacked afterwards, the balls on this ***.

Little meglomaniacs believing everyone should do what they say.

2008 was the Tour of good vs evil. Sastre who represents so much about what is good about the sport, vs the pure evil of the Schlecks, and Evans a bit of both



What a disgrace.

Angirilu my man. I think you should start a thread titled "Schleck dumb comments", and have it as an anthology of all the disgraceful things they say.

Have mods lock it and be able to edit it everytime new material comes out.

Preferably have it as a sticky during the TDF.

Much like the transfers thread luckyboy had that was locked and only got edited when new transfers were made.

indeed. easily two of my least favorite riders, I think I'm actually glad evans won, in comparison to andy anyway. Can't stand him. They are just arrogant, disrespectful d!cks.

 

[The Hitch]

The hits keep coming:

The Moncoutie statement by Andy: "He's got something wrong in his head. He could be a Tour contender." This was what, 2 years ago?

Hes attacking Moncoutie now?

The Old Major of the cycling peloton. Who has given his life to the sport.

 

[The Hitch]

Cancellara at the ITT.

Kind of ironic in hindsight, Cancellara accusing someone of using a motor

 

[La Pandera]

As issoisso mentioned earlier in this thread, Frank had not allowed Sastre to attack on an earlier stage and got rightfully shouted at by Riis for it.

TO now complain that Sastre attacked afterwards, the balls on this ***.

Little meglomaniacs believing everyone should do what they say.

2008 was the Tour of good vs evil. Sastre who represents so much about what is good about the sport, vs the pure evil of the Schlecks, and Evans a bit of both



What a disgrace.

Angirilu my man. I think you should start a thread titled "Schleck dumb comments", and have it as an anthology of all the disgraceful things they say.

Have mods lock it and be able to edit it everytime new material comes out.

Preferably have it as a sticky during the TDF.

Much like the transfers thread luckyboy had that was locked and only got edited when new transfers were made.

The media loves them so much that one would get carpal tunnel from trying to keep up with the endless supply of material. The mods and admins may not like our having a sticky that demeans one of the site's most frequently featured riders, although they are an unwitting party to promoting the unintended comic stylings of this dimwitted cycling version of Beavis and Butthead.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Exactly. Contador just basically needs to stay with AS in the mountains (not likely though) a

Contador will smoke him in the mountains as well ^^

 

[Dancing On The Pedals]

I think the peloton has alot to do with it. It seems to have a 'You 1st Schlecks' attitude to chasing down breaks and attacks. We're prepared to acept the scraps that Contador leaves behind if need be. Lets be honest Evans TDF win was a vulture swooping down on weaken prey. I'm not knocking that, just pointing out the fact that the race rides for 17-18 days watching the Schlecks (who've won nothing by the way?) and reacts to them only. The motto 'he who dares' ever come to mind???

The point is that if the Schlecks wanted to win the tour, they needed to gain time in the mountains over the likes of Evans, who is a far better TT'er than either of the brothers. It's not their responsibility to chase every break, but it is their job (as professional cyclists who are trying to win the tour) to do everything in their power to achieve that. For the Schlecks, that means going banana's in the mountains to give themselves as big a time buffer as possible. If Andy is supposedly the second best climber in the world, then it's his own fault that he didn't use this to his advantage. In contrast, Evans did what he had to do over the course of three weeks, stayed in touch, and then pounced on the TT to go into yellow. Smart, intelligent, and successful racing.

 

[Winterfold]

I've had to read that interview several times just to make absolutely certain that riders can make such dicks of themselves in their own words.

A more obnoxious more up themselves pair of riders it is difficult to imagine...

Their sense of entitlement is more like that of overpaid prima donna footballers

 

[Angliru]

As issoisso mentioned earlier in this thread, Frank had not allowed Sastre to attack on an earlier stage and got rightfully shouted at by Riis for it.

TO now complain that Sastre attacked afterwards, the balls on this ***.

Little meglomaniacs believing everyone should do what they say.

2008 was the Tour of good vs evil. Sastre who represents so much about what is good about the sport, vs the pure evil of the Schlecks, and Evans a bit of both



What a disgrace.

Angirilu my man. I think you should start a thread titled "Schleck dumb comments", and have it as an anthology of all the disgraceful things they say.

Have mods lock it and be able to edit it everytime new material comes out.

Preferably have it as a sticky during the TDF.

Much like the transfers thread luckyboy had that was locked and only got edited when new transfers were made.

As La Pandera posted, there is a glut of material available. I'll have to search through the numerous cycling mags that have either Andy or Andy and Frank as coverboys, and scour the web. No promises, but if I do it, it'll be a labor of love. Andy brings so much joy to my cycling life, it's only fair that I return the favor by honoring him by opening a thread devoted to his most eloquent quotes.