Schlecks Depreciation Thread

[Angliru]

The off-season, also known on the Cyclingnews-forum as the Bash-Schleck-Season.

To be fair, I think we bash him equally in-season also.

 

[Angliru]

Of course, this is partly the result of his being so good that from 22 years of age he's been the team leader in the biggest races for a rider with his characteristics: the Ardennes classics and the Tour. Do you really expect him to go for the Giro and the Vuelta? Wouldn't make sense.

If Frank can podium at Paris-Nice and potentially win it with his abysmal TT skills along with compete in other week long stage races during the course of the season, why can't Andy who has shown he's the superior talent?

 

[Red Rick]

Well Armstrong did the same but the difference was he won.......regularly and he was super committed. I think that is the problem how committed is he ? I think he lacks mental toughness. Put Voeckler's determination in Schleck's body and he would be a champion. For me the only bright point in Schleck's 2011 TDF was the Galibier stage and that's just not enough to win a race that goes for three weeks. If you compare Evan's stage results to Schleck's over three weeks it is obvious who wanted the win more.

If he just makes one crazy attack, he just needs to keep attacking on the other finishing climbs as well, that's what he didn't do last year

 

[hughmoore]

If he just makes one crazy attack, he just needs to keep attacking on the other finishing climbs as well, that's what he didn't do last year

Rumour has it he is palnning to launch a crazy attack in stages 9 & 19.



Hugh

 

[Red Rick]

You forget the prologue, which means he'll be attacking the motorbikes in front of him or he'll be attacking his shadow.

 

[hughmoore]

You forget the prologue, which means he'll be attacking the motorbikes in front of him or he'll be attacking his shadow.

I left it out so it wasnt so obvious.

I watched the replay of the Grenoble TT and counted Shlek looked back 67 times to make sure no one was attacking him.


Hugh

 

[Bonkstrong]

Here is Andy's list of victories as a professional in its entirety:

2005 Luxembourg ITT Championships
2006 Sachsen Tour Stage 3
2006 Sachsen Tour Stage 5
2007 Deutschland Tour Stage 2 (TTT)
2008 Tour de Pologne Stage 1 (TTT)
2009 Liège-Bastogne-Liège
2009 Tour de Luxembourg Stage 2
2009 Luxembourg Road Race Championships
2010 Luxembourg ITT Championships
2010 Tour de France Stage 8
2010 Tour de France Stage 17
*2010 Tour de France
2011 Tour de France Stage 18

King Cav makes Andy look look an amature - and a not very succesful one at that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_career_achievements_by_Mark_Cavendish

All hail king Cav!!

 

[Red Rick]

King Cav makes Andy look look an amature - and a not very succesful one at that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_career_achievements_by_Mark_Cavendish

All hail king Cav!!

You're right, if you look at schlecks victory's, it seems he only cares about the nats and about tour stages.
Cav however, wins about 5 times the amount of tour stages schleck wins

 

[Red Rick]

I left it out so it wasnt so obvious.

I watched the replay of the Grenoble TT and counted Shlek looked back 67 times to make sure no one was attacking him.


Hugh

It's good that he started after his brother, because otherwise he would've waited for him for sure

 

[Libertine Seguros]

King Cav makes Andy look look an amature - and a not very succesful one at that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_career_achievements_by_Mark_Cavendish

All hail king Cav!!

Yea, but Cavendish has got a lot more wins than Alberto Contador too (even taking into account the results taken away). Sprinters have more chances to win than any other type of rider, and Cav is the best at that, so of course he'd have a bigger win list.

Andy's win list is ridiculously small for a guy of his talent level, but comparing it to Cav's is unfair.

 

[cycladianpirate]

Yea, but Cavendish has got a lot more wins than Alberto Contador too (even taking into account the results taken away). Sprinters have more chances to win than any other type of rider, and Cav is the best at that, so of course he'd have a bigger win list.

Andy's win list is ridiculously small for a guy of his talent level, but comparing it to Cav's is unfair.

I agree on your general point about palmares not being the be all and end all. My problem with Schleck is that he so rarely uses his undoubted talent to light up a race.

My principal objection, however, is the carping about such things as certain descents being too dangerous. Of course they are Andy - if you spend half your time riding a bike looking over your bloody shoulder....

 

[Spider1964]

Don't know if this tweet from Greg Henderson should go in the appreciation or depreciation thread?

https://twitter.com/#!/Greghenderson1/status/176423304838660096/photo/1

 

[happychappy]

I've seen amateurs with better positions than that. What a bonehead.
It's almost like his position has gotten worse in the off season.

 

[palmerq]

oh dear :S not looking good for andy, but as bad as he is I think he might be the only hope to stop the tour being one long time trial, which might be quite interesting... Lets hope andy gets back to his top mountaineering form and makes the race interesting :S

 

[hmsgenoa]

I've seen amateurs with better positions than that. What a bonehead.
It's almost like his position has gotten worse in the off season.

A little bit harsh but I have to say you are right, a great shame he's missed the opportunity to correct this over the winter. Good comparison shots. He might as well be on his road bike. He's obviously got long arms in relation to his body and needs to have more reach and lower bars - in a similar way to the way Cadel has set up his TT bike. And yet on his Road bike Andys has a flipped stem to get his hoods lower. Lets hope Bruyneel has him TT'ing with the parachute effect so that he feels the benefit when he sits properly come July.

 

[happychappy]

Even if he HAS to ride like a wind scoop, someone could at least try to make him practice bringing his chin into his chest more to bring his head down. The top of his head stuck up like that is ridiculously unaero - also the Giro Selector seems to be a bit taller than other helmets, he might as well be wearing a top hat.

It's just another reason why I don't like him, he just can't be bothered unless it's a mountain stage of the tour. He should just not bother riding and go and get drunk until the Tour starts.

 

[hfer07]

I've seen amateurs with better positions than that. What a bonehead.
It's almost like his position has gotten worse in the off season.

What I don't quite understand is that Bruyneel himself was very outspoken of Andy's horrible TT position going back to 2010-and now under his care the same atrocious position & "results" persist.........

Is really Bruyneel couching Andy at all- or is he still running away from Italian justice

 

[mewmewmew13]

Even if he HAS to ride like a wind scoop, someone could at least try to make him practice bringing his chin into his chest more to bring his head down. The top of his head stuck up like that is ridiculously unaero - also the Giro Selector seems to be a bit taller than other helmets, he might as well be wearing a top hat.

It's just another reason why I don't like him, he just can't be bothered unless it's a mountain stage of the tour. He should just not bother riding and go and get drunk until the Tour starts.

lol
great post

 

[mewmewmew13]

Wiggo sure doesn't look pretty but he gets the job done.

 

[thehog]

What I don't quite understand is that Bruyneel himself was very outspoken of Andy's horrible TT position going back to 2010-and now under his care the same atrocious position & "results" persist.........

Is really Bruyneel couching Andy at all- or is he still running away from Italian justice

Yep Andy is looking like a postman doing the rounds with that position.....

Can't wait till he smashes the TTs at the Tour raising more eyebrows than eyebrow raising contest....

 

[Carols]

He should just not bother riding and go and get drunk until the Tour starts.

This! ROTFLMAO!!!

 

[Ripper]

Even if he HAS to ride like a wind scoop, someone could at least try to make him practice bringing his chin into his chest more to bring his head down. The top of his head stuck up like that is ridiculously unaero - also the Giro Selector seems to be a bit taller than other helmets, he might as well be wearing a top hat.

It's just another reason why I don't like him, he just can't be bothered unless it's a mountain stage of the tour. He should just not bother riding and go and get drunk until the Tour starts.

Sir, your posts on Schrek's TT are outstanding, I tip my hat. Also, he could simply get a longer top tube, keep the bars high, raise his hands ever so slightly (in addition to the head drop), and he might get a bit closer to Leipheimer's gig.

He should just not bother riding and go and get drunk until the Tour starts.

Oh, that is too funny! If this guy starts smoking the TT, I think he'll be drinking his weight in hog-juice.

 

[movingtarget]

Good to see that the brothers have been working on the TT in the off season. After watching Paris-Nice yesterday all I can say is it is comin along fine..........for a TDF thrashing by their rivals.

 

[Ripper]

Good to see that the brothers have been working on the TT in the off season. After watching Paris-Nice yesterday all I can say is it is comin along fine..........for a TDF thrashing by their rivals.

They're still base training. What no one knows is that they were only riding at 80% the power they could have

 

[Maxiton]

Sir, your posts on Schrek's TT are outstanding, I tip my hat. Also, he could simply get a longer top tube, keep the bars high, raise his hands ever so slightly (in addition to the head drop), and he might get a bit closer to Leipheimer's gig.

And I've wondered, given his unusual physiognomy, why he doesn't ride a custom TT geometry. It's not like they can't afford it, more like they can't afford not to.

But maybe the answer to your question, and mine, is: maybe he's afraid to. Maybe riding with his back flat and head down feels too unusual and unstable and he's afraid he'll crash. I know it sounds ridiculous; but descending in the wet is pretty scary, too . . . . We are talking about Andy Schleck here.

Anybody got any better ideas?

Oh, that is too funny! If this guy starts smoking the TT, I think he'll be drinking his weight in hog-juice.

Yeah, last year I said that would happen this year. But after seeing P-N prologue, I don't think all the hog-juice in Texas will help him. Not unless there's a pretty radical restructuring of his TT position between now and July.

And while we're at it, I thought Bradley Wiggins riding in the wet to within one second of Gustav Larsson riding in the dry was beyond the pale. But that's a different thread in a different forum, so I'll drop it.