Schlecks Depreciation Thread

[profff]

franck schleck today simply showed disrespect to one of the most important races in cycling.
he showed disrespect to sportmanship
he showed disrespect to the thousands tifosi that today were on the roads of giro under the cold rain to cheer all the riders.
he showed disrespect to the metier of pro rider.
he showed disrespect to the team paying his salary.
he really has not a palmares that can justify at least partly his way of behaviour.

i do not really like bruyneel, but this time he is , apparently , on the right side.

 

[profff]

it is really a paradigm that i do not like bruyneel because he contributed with lance to build this way of behaving " i only care about the tour" that really harmed cycling and today he is having a fight with franck about this silly way of behaving, which is the reason i dislike the schleck s way.

 

[roundabout]

He didn't want to potentially ruin his season and his brother's big goal just to finish 10th in the Giro.

But then again it's possible that the Hog reads this forum for tactical advice since he sent Schleck to the Giro with 1 week's notice in the first place.

 

[Parrulo]

i think the worst is the lack of respect for his team mates. the sack team at the giro has a lot of young guys who have been compensating their lack of experience with hard work to protect their leader for the first 2 weeks and this is how frank repays their work . . .

i have been reading nelson oliveira's diary on portuguese eurosport and everyday he mentions how hard they work to protect frank (today's diary isn't up yet)

 

[Parrulo]

He didn't want to potentially ruin his season and his brother's big goal just to finish 10th in the Giro.

But then again it's possible that the Hog reads this forum for tactical advice since he sent Schleck to the Giro with 1 week's notice in the first place.

if the hog reads this forum he should have done what i said and send machado instead of frank. at least by now he would still have a guy in the top 20 fighting hard everyday for a top 10 position which if achieved would be considered a success for him and the team could publicize it as one of it's up and coming riders starting to deliver on the big GT scene.

 

[roundabout]

it is really a paradigm that i do not like bruyneel because he contributed with lance to build this way of behaving " i only care about the tour" that really harmed cycling and today he is having a fight with franck about this silly way of behaving, which is the reason i dislike the schleck s way.

Hog doesn't care about the Giro. Did you see schack there in 2010? Neither did I. Do you remember who they sent last year? Err.

He only wanted Frank to finish the Giro because he doesn't want him to be in top form for the Tour.

 

[Angliru]

He didn't want to potentially ruin his season and his brother's big goal just to finish 10th in the Giro.

But then again it's possible that the Hog reads this forum for tactical advice since he sent Schleck to the Giro with 1 week's notice in the first place.

With a team stacked with stage racing talent, it seems to be not too bad of proposition to think that one of them (Kloden or Frank) would've been sent to the Giro when Fuglsang went down. Frank was the logical choice with the TT miles in the Tour's parcours. Plus maybe Bruyneel took note of Andy's 2010 Tour performance and recognized that Andy's a more potent weapon when his brother isn't also contending for a spot in the gc. Even now Frank can still ride the Tour but at a lessened capacity than had he sat the Giro out. It appears he's still going to have a full schedule in June with 2 weeklong stage races (according to Bruyneel).

Ultimately all of this drama just shows that things are not harmonious in Leopardland especially with Bruyneel not hesitating to open up to the media about the conflict that exists when he could have kept it all internal.

 

[Parrulo]

Hog doesn't care about the Giro. Did you see schack there in 2010? Neither did I. Do you remember who they sent last year? Err.

He only wanted Frank to finish the Giro because he doesn't want him to be in top form for the Tour.

they sent popo to get stage wins and machado to ride his first GT hoping for a good placing overall. popo despite attacking a lot didn't manage to get a stage win and machado finished 20th despite crashing and injuring himself (lung infection) on the first week to an extent the hog himself wanted him to drop out of the race.

it was a risky bet that failed but i have certainly seen worse teams in a GT.

just like rabo this year put their cards on their sprinters and on a young kid and so far they haven't delivered and probably won't during the entire race, it's a risk but at least they had a goal for the race.

 

[Angliru]

Hog doesn't care about the Giro. Did you see schack there in 2010? Neither did I. Do you remember who they sent last year? Err.

He only wanted Frank to finish the Giro because he doesn't want him to be in top form for the Tour.

Do you think this is a smart move and maybe that he's (Bruyneel) doing so to prove a point to Andy about what he's truly capable of?

 

[thehog]

With a team stacked with stage racing talent, it seems to be not too bad of proposition to think that one of them (Kloden or Frank) would've been sent to the Giro when Fuglsang went down. Frank was the logical choice with the TT miles in the Tour's parcours. Plus maybe Bruyneel took note of Andy's 2010 Tour performance and recognized that Andy's a more potent weapon when his brother isn't also contending for a spot in the gc. Even now Frank can still ride the Tour but at a lessened capacity than had he sat the Giro out. It appears he's still going to have a full schedule in June with 2 weeklong stage races (according to Bruyneel).

Ultimately all of this drama just shows that things are not harmonious in Leopardland especially with Bruyneel not hesitating to open up to the media about the conflict that exists when he could have kept it all internal.

There's no point in trying to split them up. You can't break family bonds that tight. Both will react negativity. The Shlecks are a package deal. You can't split them. Won't happen. He shouldn't try.

 

[Angliru]

There's no point in trying to split them up. You can't break family bonds that tight. Both will react negativity. The Shlecks are a package deal. You can't split them. Won't happen. He shouldn't try.

I don't think Bruyneel cares about their bond and how splitting them up (race wise) may effect their attitudes toward him. It's possible that he foolishly thinks that they are professional enough to abide by his decisions without letting it effect their performances. He obviously hasn't been paying close attention to their behavior like we in the cn forum have.

If he really was concerned about their bond, Frank would have been in Spain training with Andy and Machado would've been at the Giro in Fuglsang's vacated spot. It seems to be a continuous power play on Bruyneel's part letting the Schleck's know who is the boss. Unsurprisingly they have reacted as I would've expected them to do. They seemed to have their way without opposition in the past and they're having difficulty adapting to Bruyneel's stern hand and more tightly run ship.

 

[42x16ss]

I don't think Bruyneel cares about their bond and how splitting them up (race wise) may effect their attitudes toward him. It's possible that he foolishly thinks that they are professional enough to abide by his decisions without letting it effect their performances. He obviously hasn't been paying close attention to their behavior like we in the cn forum have.

If he really was concerned about their bond, Frank would have been in Spain training with Andy and Machado would've been at the Giro in Fuglsang's vacated spot. It seems to be a continuous power play on Bruyneel's part letting the Schleck's know who is the boss. Unsurprisingly they have reacted as I would've expected them to do. They seemed to have their way without opposition in the past and they're having difficulty adapting to Bruyneel's stern hand and more tightly run ship.

Letting LA p1ss off Contador is looking like a smarter decision each day I'm loving seeing all this unfold for Bruyneel, he sure has earned it!

Very disappointed that Frank didn't even have the decency to push through to the rest day. If I was one of his teammates I would be letting him have it. Pure selfishness.

 

[patrick767]

It seems my regard for the Schlecks, or at least for Frank, has been too high in the past. Today was hugely disappointing. You're telling me he can hurt his shoulder in stage 11, continue racing and finish with the GC contenders yesterday, but today he can't push through the stage? Johny Hoogerland he's certainly not (lest anyone forget, Hoogerland hurtled into a barbed wire fence at the TdF last year, finished the stage, needed 33 stitches, and stayed in the race).

Is it now clear that Frank Schleck lacks the toughness and drive to be a champion cyclist? An incredible capacity to push through pain is an important part of the package.

 

[Publicus]

Without getting into speculating about motives here, Frank showed a surprising lack of professionalism in the way this has been handled. Bruyneel probably needed to take a more restrained approach in the press, but I don't fault him for this situation. I predict their Tour team will have a worse working relationship than the 2009 Astana team.

 

[DominicDecoco]

Poor play of him to make Alex a scapegoat in all this mess. That's what makes me the most disappointed with him. Never came as a surprise that he would abandon at some point, though. That was planned the moment he got his 'famous' call. Yet I did still have a slight believe in him actually staying and comleting with a decent result. Not to be, obviously.

 

[eljimberino]

At least this clears the way for Spartacus to focus more on the TT's in the tour, instead of working for these sissys.

 

[spalco]

In January people were bashing Schlecks for working with Bruyneel. Now they work against Bruyneel and still no one is happy

Because Bruyneel is right this time.

 

[movingtarget]

Because Bruyneel is right this time.

They are both babies, that's why they will never win a grand tour on the road.

 

[Lexman]

would be great if JB let Frankie boy out of the TDF team, he hints a bit at that in his declaration

 

[happychappy]

would be great if JB let Frankie boy out of the TDF team, he hints a bit at that in his declaration

This. Make Franky ****y ride the Vuelta. His booboo will have stopped hurting by then!

 

[Caruut]

If you could have picked any week not to pointlessly annoy JB, surely this was it. If I was thinking I might go to jail for crimes that someone else was the main man in while they got off free, I'd be a right vindictive b*****d that week. We all take our frustrations out on other people sometimes, and good god has Franky given Johan an excuse to do that.

 

[spalco]

would be great if JB let Frankie boy out of the TDF team, he hints a bit at that in his declaration

Oh yeah. Even better: leave Andy out too. Klöden and Horner co-captains for the GC. I would laugh so hard at that.

 

[Martina]

Very different kind of feeling, though. A lot of people genuinely dislike Armstrong/Bruyneel, whereas the Schleck-bashing is more a running joke motivated by their continued attempts to live up to the "We only care about the Tour and holding hands on the podium" cliché. I only diss the Schlecks because I find it amusing.

This

Hog doesn't care about the Giro. Did you see schack there in 2010? Neither did I. Do you remember who they sent last year? Err.

He only wanted Frank to finish the Giro because he doesn't want him to be in top form for the Tour.

Bruyneel has no obligation to allow Frank to ride the Tour; honestly, if he is selfish enough (and we all know he is) he will not let Frank ride the Tour. Maybe Vuelta with decent result as a condition for 2013 Tour

 

[phanatic]

RSNT still has only two victories for the season, both by Cancellara.

 

[wheels of fire]

I dont think that neither Andy or Frank could be on tour podium this year. Finally a tour without Contador but both having worst of the seasons.

I think Frank Giro left because he saw that he didnt have the form to win at the final week so he didnt want to ruin Jully for a possible top 5 spot. In fact he cant win TDF with so much TT and so many climbers (who have better TT) to chase him at TDF.

Last year in the first 2 weeks he was better than Andy but he didnt want to drop his brother at Pyrenees. In the Alps situation reversed. So you are fast as your weakest brother if you want to finish at the same time.

Let one brother attack at lower altidute Pyrenees and explosive steep finishes then wait for TT; and use your better climber at Alps. However this strategy works only if one of the brothers has really good TT and good descending skills. Unfortunately neither does.

For Andy, this year will be harder. He is not as tough as last year and this time he will have Sky chasing him at mountains with a lot more stronger BMC and with more TT kilometers. Brothers might have the talent but mentality is what makes the difference between a top 5 spot and winning spot.

Obviously they know that this year is so far their worst season and "may" continue to be. Since Andy was a noobie we didnt seen him so weak at classics. So they are looking for an excuse. JB comes to the story at this point.