Schleck's mentality: 101

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I can listen to Andy, he'll call a spade for what it is while being concillatory to winners and losers around him. Contador, I can't. He is robotic and mousy.

Therefore, I hope Andy wins and gets all the camera time going forward.

 

[Angliru]

I can listen to Andy, he'll call a spade for what it is while being concillatory to winners and losers around him. Contador, I can't. He is robotic and mousy.

Therefore, I hope Andy wins and gets all the camera time going forward.

So, to summarize: Andy talks a big game but against the one rider that stands between him and his dream he can't back it up and Contador speaks softly and carries a big stick-he let's his legs do the talking. Yep, you are truly a man of substance.

 

[woodburn]

My point regarding Andy Schleck was based on the fact that he somehow he believes he is the best climber in the world or at least among the Tour's gc contenders based on results of one stage, and to be more specific, a 1 km stretch on a minimal slope. Now when he shows he can drop Contador on a real climb like Contador did to him twice in last year's Tour then he can talk. Otherwise he is simply delusional and making himself look silly. Silly like he sounded when after getting dropped by Contador last year he made the same statement. Either that or he needs to try out some new material because his standup act is getting pretty stale.

His confidence is more likely based in finishing second in the Giro at age 21 and his climbing in the last two Tours. And he appears to be in his best form this year.

 

[Angliru]

His confidence is more likely based in finishing second in the Giro at age 21 and his climbing in the last two Tours. And he appears to be in his best form this year.

Do you mean reaching his peak form of 2010 or his career? I'd agree this is the best he's looked this year but for me it's a bit too early to say that he's better than, let's say, last year's Tour. I'd say his stage win has given him a boost and now wearing the leaders jersey will do even more. The challenge for him is handling the pressure. He appears to have the demeanor, kind of a laid back surfer-dude type of mentality (No offense to any surfers out there!), that doesn't allow things to get to him, which will be to his advantage. Still on today's stage, it must have been a humbling experiece to go from thinking that you've finally risen above your rival to find that he's answering all of your attacks and not getting dropped as you likely thought would occur after Sunday's stage. He needs to reassess his plan of action.

 

[scribe]

So, to summarize: Andy talks a big game but against the one rider that stands between him and his dream he can't back it up and Contador speaks softly and carries a big stick-he let's his legs do the talking. Yep, you are truly a man of substance.

There are lots of athletes that don't have much to say because there is not a lot of activity upstairs. That is not the case with shrek.

 

[Angliru]

There are lots of athletes that don't have much to say because there is not a lot of activity upstairs. That is not the case with shrek.

Are you implying that that is the case with Contador? The thing that I noticed is that most of the Spanish riders are pretty understated for the most part. It must be part of their culture. There isn't too much bragadocio (is that a word) in their game. They seem to just do their thing out there and show their personality in their riding. I guess I kind of like that because I'm the same way. Obviously you and I are opposites in that respect. Look at Freire, Sastre, Contador and from the past- Heras and Indurain.

 

[Burnette]

Now you've got it!

That's it Angliru, we all gravitate towards the atheletes that we identify with. You're cool with Conti, some like the demeaner of Cadel(they call him cuddles here?). There is no universal right or wrong, just what is right or wrong for you. I'm not down with wearing a pink T-Shirt with Cuddles on it myself, but hey, to each his own. Just joking Cadel fans, the T-Shirt ain't pink, I know(Ha!). But I gotta say, compared to some bicycling boards, this one seems to have alot of sensitive, touchy feely members on it. But hey, you can learn new stuff from them too I guess, so it's all good.

 

[woodburn]

Do you mean reaching his peak form of 2010 or his career? I'd agree this is the best he's looked this year but for me it's a bit too early to say that he's better than, let's say, last year's Tour. I'd say his stage win has given him a boost and now wearing the leaders jersey will do even more. The challenge for him is handling the pressure. He appears to have the demeanor, kind of a laid back surfer-dude type of mentality (No offense to any surfers out there!), that doesn't allow things to get to him, which will be to his advantage. Still on today's stage, it must have been a humbling experiece to go from thinking that you've finally risen above your rival to find that he's answering all of your attacks and not getting dropped as you likely thought would occur after Sunday's stage. He needs to reassess his plan of action.

I think he is on better form than last year in the mountains. At this point last year he had not shown any aggression and had been dropped by Contador on Arcalis. Now he is attacking, dropped Contador once and won a stage.

Today's stage reminded me at Grand Bornand without Frank alongside. That may have helped Andy be more aggressive.

The biggest thing from today was his ability to drive his group to catch the leaders after Madeline and put time into all the others behind him. That showed more strength than his win at Morzine.

We'll see if he can hang in the Pyreenes. He has been weaker there in the last two Tours.

 

[Barracuda]

Andy Schleck - No respect

This little jumped up desk jockey just showed a lack of class.

First stage win and now he's disrespecting the world champion by saying he was never going to be a threat ! WTF

I didnt see him sit up a wait for Cadel when Cadel was clearly going through hell with a fractured elbow like they did for Frank when he was lying on the ground squealing like a stuck pig!

All great riders ... but "Cadel never going to be a threat!" GET REAL.

 

[Publicus]

I think he is on better form than last year in the mountains. At this point last year he had not shown any aggression and had been dropped by Contador on Arcalis. Now he is attacking, dropped Contador once and won a stage.

Today's stage reminded me at Grand Bornand without Frank alongside. That may have helped Andy be more aggressive.

The biggest thing from today was his ability to drive his group to catch the leaders after Madeline and put time into all the others behind him. That showed more strength than his win at Morzine.

We'll see if he can hang in the Pyreenes. He has been weaker there in the last two Tours.

On Sunday he dropped AC on a 2.1% gradient and proclaimed himself the best climber in the race. Today he tried multiple times to drop AC and couldn't on much steeper slopes. Even admitted that he almost blew up. He said he was glad that AC didn't attack.

I thought he was premature on Sunday in his proclamation of greatness. I think today's result demonstrated that.

Btw, I just re-watched the stage, and AC and AS were sharing the workload driving their small group (Moreau was just sitting on).

 

[pedaling squares]

I didnt see him sit up a wait for Cadel when Cadel was clearly going through hell with a fractured elbow like they did for Frank when he was lying on the ground squealing like a stuck pig!

You and I are watching two different races. Who waited for Frank? Not even his own team, they knew he was toast. And who waits for a guy who pops off the back? That's never been part of the peloton's sense of fair play.

On Sunday he dropped AC on a 2.1% gradient and proclaimed himself the best climber in the race. Today he tried multiple times to drop AC and couldn't on much steeper slopes. Even admitted that he almost blew up. He said he was glad that AC didn't attack.

I thought he was premature on Sunday in his proclamation of greatness. I think today's result demonstrated that.

Btw, I just re-watched the stage, and AC and AS were sharing the workload driving their small group (Moreau was just sitting on).

He's certainly premature to call himself a better climber than Contador. But I think he's just oozing confidence, which some athletes need to do, often to help themselves more than to intimidate or antagonize others. I wrote about Andy in another thread, thinking that his words are the type that you see as confidence if you like him or as arrogance if you don't.

 

[Burnette]

Now this here's a knfe!

Wow, was Crocodile Dundee the biggest misconception to the image of Australians or what? Cadel was ballin like a baby then gave a teary eyed interview. He needs a good PR person and should refrain from talking in front of a camera.
The "what if" game gets old in sports, either you win or you don't. You can what if all day about every rider in the peleton but Tour wins are the goal and Cadel does not have one. I shouldn't say it will never happen, who knows tommorrow, things change. But Cadel didn't have it this year. Hey, I was pulling for Lance for crying out loud but I have to admit he just didn't have it for the Tour this year. It's OK if it comes down to Andy and Alberto, they will put on a good show.

 

[hughmoore]

Agreed - in addition to Luxembourgish, Andy speaks German, French and English pretty well. None of them perfectly of course, but he still gives interviews in all three. That is greatly appreciated by reporters.

There are riders like Laurent Didier who have a University degree in Engineering but Andy just decided to follow his dream of becoming one of the best riders in the world instead of going to school .

I think you should all give Shrek a break, given Christian says he never went to school, he managed to learn some German, French and English in addition to his native language.

Given Luxenburg is such a big country, you would rarely travel to far away places like France and Germany.

So everyone please lay off!


Regards


Hugh

 

[Publicus]

You and I are watching two different races. Who waited for Frank? Not even his own team, they knew he was toast. And who waits for a guy who pops off the back? That's never been part of the peloton's sense of fair play.



He's certainly premature to call himself a better climber than Contador. But I think he's just oozing confidence, which some athletes need to do, often to help themselves more than to intimidate or antagonize others. I wrote about Andy in another thread, thinking that his words are the type that you see as confidence if you like him or as arrogance if you don't.

I agree. He's oozing with confidence, which I don't begrudge him. He just looks like a little silly saying that on Sunday, and if he actually believed it, then today could be a bit of a psychological blow.

 

[ColumbusSL]

I can listen to Andy, he'll call a spade for what it is while being concillatory to winners and losers around him. Contador, I can't. He is robotic and mousy.

Therefore, I hope Andy wins and gets all the camera time going forward.

While a lot of riders are talented athletes and Shrek is one of them... he is making letting himself down when he is disrespectful. For whatever reason. I know a lot of young people are - but that doesn't change the fact he is letting himself down.
True champions are those that can race hard and keep perspective of what it is they are doing. It is just a bike race... in a 1st world country... with good food and hotels...

Also ... Cadel could use a few notes from fellow aussie Stuart O'Grady's PR notebook. The guy is a great athlete - perhaps the best of the 'lesser nourished' riders ever - but geez, that whine is hard to take

 

[lancewillwin8]

Andy is in great form. It was good to see contador struggling to hold andys wheel. It looks like AC has gone down a few levels without bruyneel.

 

[Christian]

I think you should all give Shrek a break, given Christian says he never went to school, he managed to learn some German, French and English in addition to his native language.

Given Luxenburg is such a big country, you would rarely travel to far away places like France and Germany.

So everyone please lay off!


Regards


Hugh

Thanks for sarcastically telling me things about the place where I live for 20 years. I really needed that.

I never said that he "never went to school", I just said he always focused on something else.

You might live in the United States or Australia - a huge country where you can go thousand of km's in every direction and still be in the same country and speak the same language. Therefore you might find foreign countries and languages something really exotic.

However you must consider that the sole fact that you can go to another country really doesn't mean you go there all the time. The scenery is pretty much exactly the same, plus you have other things to do: work, hobbies, or cycling, as in Andy's case.

Of course I'm sure Andy went to Trier or Metz to go shopping every once in a while but it really doesn't take all that much to buy a new pair of pants or order a beer.

Mandatory