Lidl-Trek (no longer Radioshack-Leopard Trek)

[patrick767]

You can't really chance a riders form schedule a week before a race. Frank isn't in a significally good form at the moment - we saw that in the Ardennes.

I understand that that's a problem, but their other alternative seems to be to give up doing anything at the Giro.

 

[Froome19]

What now for this team? I already thought they should have been giving Frank Schleck a shot at the Giro. With Jakob Fuglsang out, how can they deny him that chance? Sure, it could potentially make him a little weaker at the TdF (see Contador last year), but the TdF goal should be to get Andy the yellow jersey, not to put Andy and Frank on the podium again.

If they don't switch to Frank for the Giro, what does the team hope to accomplish there?

Well last year they sent a bunch of no hopers and it wasnt much better on the Radioshack side, so I get the feeling that the Giro is more about giving riders who want to race Gts the opportunity to do so rather than actual competitive racing.
Of course Bruyneel has been known for his focus on the tour and though he has done his best to look disappointed at the classics etc I think he only truly cares about the tour and of course the sponsors also only really care about the tour and of course ATOC

 

[Froome19]

I understand that that's a problem, but their other alternative seems to be to give up doing anything at the Giro.

tbh that alternative would be better than flogging a dead horse by sending a useless Schleck to the tour, yet I do get the feeling that Frank wasnt in that bad form in the Ardennes but just has some bad luck and he generally has a better base level and form throughout the year than Andy so unless he has let himself go since the Ardennes he shouldnt be in too bad form.
If course its never going to happen, but....

 

[killswitch]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/fuglsang-out-of-giro-ditalia-with-knee-problems

Team manager Johan Bruyneel regretted the injury on behalf of both his rider and his team. “He invested a lot of time and even personal funds for altitude camps to be in his best shape at the start of the race. I'm really sorry for him, but it's unrealistic to bring him to the start and believe in a miracle. The Giro is a very important race for our team and now we need to study how we can alter our strategy for those three weeks."


Why should Birdie have to invest his own money for preparation? What a shambles.

 

[El Oso]

What now for this team? I already thought they should have been giving Frank Schleck a shot at the Giro. With Jakob Fuglsang out, how can they deny him that chance? Sure, it could potentially make him a little weaker at the TdF (see Contador last year), but the TdF goal should be to get Andy the yellow jersey, not to put Andy and Frank on the podium again.

If they don't switch to Frank for the Giro, what does the team hope to accomplish there?

While I completely agree with you in that it would be ideal to send Frank to the Giro while focusing Andy on the Tour (and keeping Frank out of the Tour so Andy doesn't wait for him), do you think Frank really wants that chance?

The Schlecks (along with JB and Becca) seem hell bent on the Tour as the sole race of the year, and the Schlecks and Becca are obsessed with both of them being on the Tour podium.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/fuglsang-out-of-giro-ditalia-with-knee-problems

Team manager Johan Bruyneel regretted the injury on behalf of both his rider and his team. “He invested a lot of time and even personal funds for altitude camps to be in his best shape at the start of the race. I'm really sorry for him, but it's unrealistic to bring him to the start and believe in a miracle.The Giro is a very important race for our team and now we need to study how we can alter our strategy for those three weeks."


Why should Birdie have to invest his own money for preparation? What a shambles.

Haha, also note how Bruyneel says that the Giro is a very important race to them. You can't make this stuff up.

 

[thehog]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/fuglsang-out-of-giro-ditalia-with-knee-problems

Team manager Johan Bruyneel regretted the injury on behalf of both his rider and his team. “He invested a lot of time and even personal funds for altitude camps to be in his best shape at the start of the race. I'm really sorry for him, but it's unrealistic to bring him to the start and believe in a miracle. The Giro is a very important race for our team and now we need to study how we can alter our strategy for those three weeks."


Why should Birdie have to invest his own money for preparation? What a shambles.

I think he was saying that he paid for his own medical expanses and not subscribed to the team wide program...

Altitude camp anyone?

 

[Angliru]

While I completely agree with you in that it would be ideal to send Frank to the Giro while focusing Andy on the Tour (and keeping Frank out of the Tour so Andy doesn't wait for him), do you think Frank really wants that chance?

The Schlecks (along with JB and Becca) seem hell bent on the Tour as the sole race of the year, and the Schlecks and Becca are obsessed with both of them being on the Tour podium.

Take Andersson and Frank from Andy for the Tour?? That's a recipe for serious temper tantrum from Andy. They're likely to start soliciting other teams for their services before, during and after the Tour.

 

[thehog]

Take Andersson and Frank from Andy for the Tour?? That's a recipe for serious temper tantrum from Andy. They're likely to start soliciting other teams for their services before, during and after the Tour.

What stake does JB have in the team other than DS?

Can he call the shots?

 

[hoerpi]

What stake does JB have in the team other than DS?

Can he call the shots?

He's not DS, he's a consultant. Therefor no one knows probably.

 

[patrick767]

tbh that alternative would be better than flogging a dead horse by sending a useless Schleck to the tour, yet I do get the feeling that Frank wasnt in that bad form in the Ardennes but just has some bad luck and he generally has a better base level and form throughout the year than Andy so unless he has let himself go since the Ardennes he shouldnt be in too bad form.
If course its never going to happen, but....

I agree that Frank's form hasn't been that bad. It could definitely be better and that's understandable as he hasn't targeted the Giro. He'd be a long shot. I don't think he'd be a dead horse though. He's a damn good tour rider and the brutal week at the Giro is the third one, so he'd have two weeks of racing before needing to really peak.

But yeah, I also agree it's never going to happen.

 

[Christian]

Well last year they sent a bunch of no hopers

I think it was an OK team... there was no real GC candidate and people were mad about that. But Zaugg could have top-10 IMO and besides Frank/Andy he was the only one on the team who could have. Plus Bennati was supposed to do it and he could have gotten some nice results too.

Fränk is the only one with decent form right now that you can build up from...

 

[patrick767]

While I completely agree with you in that it would be ideal to send Frank to the Giro while focusing Andy on the Tour (and keeping Frank out of the Tour so Andy doesn't wait for him), do you think Frank really wants that chance?

The Schlecks (along with JB and Becca) seem hell bent on the Tour as the sole race of the year, and the Schlecks and Becca are obsessed with both of them being on the Tour podium.

That's a fair point. I don't know if Frank would want it. Personally I don't get the obsession. I think he should have targeted the Giro for victory from the start. It's his career though and yes, Bruyneel's obsession is with the TdF.

 

[Christian]

I'd hope for Zaugg to get the leadership and/or free role. He has some experience with Giro leadership from his Gerolsteiner days. Unfortunately the course doesn't suit him as much as last year and he is not showing the best form in Romandie!

 

[RHRH19861986]

That´s tragic for Fuglsang whom I like very much as a rider.

His contract is ending end 2012, so he already said 2012 was the most important year for him to prove is he the GT contender he was said to be.

If he doesn´t do a good Vuelta, things look really bad. I hope he will join Riis then, who knows him well and should have faith in him.

Really sad news.

 

[RedheadDane]

Yeah. It must really suck to have worked so hard towards a goal and then lose it all because of a knee problem...

 

[mewmewmew13]

That´s tragic for Fuglsang whom I like very much as a rider.

His contract is ending end 2012, so he already said 2012 was the most important year for him to prove is he the GT contender he was said to be.

If he doesn´t do a good Vuelta, things look really bad. I hope he will join Riis then, who knows him well and should have faith in him.

Really sad news.

Would be nice if Riis reached out for him.

 

[nowhereman]

"Give me your tired, your sore,
Your team kit masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the maillot jaune!"
Seen at the Gateway of America, As the Silly Bros. came to America, along with their cast of idiosyncratic characters, who have fleeced American company Radio Shack, into thinking that their Luxembourgian team (supported now by USD,) is somehow American. We have watched the Rolling Soap Opera grind on down the road this year. They would like us to believe that the cuties, who love to look at each other, have a chance of winning the TdF, even though there is no Fabian to support them on the road, there is no TTT, and last but certainly not least, there are lots of ITT kms. staring them in the face. Separate the inseparable?? Mon Dieu! Andy is in no shape to pull a temper tantrum. He'll just be another year down the road, if he doesn't start learning quicker than he now learning. JB has been at the head of 11 GT winning efforts. If Andy has any sense of his own, he will stop worrying about his brother, (obviously the Bros. Headstrong, are not smart enough to see that they keep repeating the same stupid strategies year after year, when they are left to do it their way) He ought to let his brother take care of himself, and start taking some advice and tutelage from experienced leaders. Or, in the end, his career could be wrapped up with one "title". RS is a joke this year. Not a funny joke, a roll your eyes joke. Oh and BTW, there is no LEOPARD in the teams title anymore. The fact that, that is in the title of this thread shows just how inaccurately this team is perceived. Did anybody notice how well so many of the other teams are doing this year? The World does not revolve around Radio Shack-Nissan, otherwise we'd all be asleep until July, waiting for the only event they regard as important. I like cycling too much to be so obsessed with one race in the whole year. I'm just saying.

 

[El Oso]

Take Andersson and Frank from Andy for the Tour?? That's a recipe for serious temper tantrum from Andy. They're likely to start soliciting other teams for their services before, during and after the Tour.

LOL! I would love to see that tantrum.

Yeah, I overlooked that one, I was assuming the Schlecks would be mature, but I should be realistic.

 

[RHRH19861986]

I think Bruyneel just lacks enthusiasm.

There Lance era was passion for him, nowadays it´s just job.

 

[El Oso]

I think Fuglsang will be at Saxo Bank next year. He's seen that the grass isn't greener on the other side and Riis still sees his talent and needs another quality rider. Not to mention the Danish connection.

 

[therhodeo]

I think Fuglsang will be at Saxo Bank next year. He's seen that the grass isn't greener on the other side and Riis still sees his talent and needs another quality rider. Not to mention the Danish connection.

Is Riis likely to spend good money on someone who might not contribute any points though?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Is Riis likely to spend good money on someone who might not contribute any points though?

Alberto *ahem*

 

[therhodeo]

Alberto *ahem*

I assumed everyone knew that I meant riders other than Alberto. They've got to get points somewhere if their plan is to get Bertie.

 

[Christian]

I assumed everyone knew that I meant riders other than Alberto. They've got to get points somewhere if their plan is to get Bertie.

Plus isn't Berto's salary paid by personal sponsors?