Schleki's won't win TDF

[Dermie]

I was just looking through the cadel thread & noticed some one talking about the Shlecki's at the TDF & it go me thinking.
I reckon Andy won't win cos he is/spends too much time worry about his bro & if his bro gets dropped or is out of the race then he has no big bro to mother him for the win.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

obviously, I mean... Gesink is racing, he stands no chance

 

[Eric8-A]

Last year Andy lost Frank because of his crash in stage 3. In the overall, Andy was 39 seconds behind Contador. He wore yellow for a few days. All without Frank. Denis Mechov was two minutes behind. Probably Andy would have lost the jersey come the TT. But apart from Contador, Andy looked like the best rider. Maybe it's why he's been second the past two years. Now with Contador doing the Giro, this year will be Andy's best shot at winning the Tour.

 

[blaxland]

obviously, I mean... Gesink is racing, he stands no chance

Agreed but also there's Van Den Broek.....

 

[seaby71]

I dont think Andy needs to worry about Frank this year. Frank will bury himself for Andy, and may need to, as he will need all the time in reserve for the ITT he will lose huge time. espescially if contador goes he wont be able to mess around trying to get frank on the podium

 

[greenedge]

Yeah A. Schleck will be a fully capable rider/ leader. If Contador is there he comes 2nd/1st, if he's not he comes 1st with the collective power of the mighty LEOPARD team. Cadel, Gesink, Samu and JVDB will be the main contenders. I have my doubts about Basso, though i hope he gets back into shape.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

actually I think now that contador isn'tgoing to do tour andy will really try to get his brother on the podium and in the process fail boith objectives of winning the tour and frank being on the podium.

 

[Magnus]

Andy will probably win the tour at some point. He's only 25 so realistically he got maybe 10 editions to make it. In the last 3-5 of these he'll (probably) have gained enough maturity to handle the pressure and Frank will be retired so he wont be looking over his shoulder all the time. Maybe.

 

[powderpuff]

He has a good chance of winning as long as Spartacus is in yellow when he misses the break sometime in the first week.

 

[greenedge]

Remember last yr he did ride the Cancellara bandwagon through arenberg. Contador lost time and so did LA. I think that is quite smart racing. In 2009 he could never have beaten Contadooooooor, but might have helped Frank to gain enough time on LA before the ITT. I don't think he will try help his brother again this yr.

 

[powderpuff]

Remember last yr he did ride the Cancellara bandwagon through arenberg. I think that is quite smart racing.

It wasn't arnberg where Spartacus saved him time it was stage 2 where AS fell twice and was way behind.

 

[dlwssonic]

this is crap. he is the hot favorite for the TDF, I dont think he is that stupid to worry more about his bro's podium position then his win. if you watched the TDF 2010 he was a level above the rest other than contador

 

[NickBVK]

Yeah I really can't imagine the team trying to win it for Andy and at the same time podium Frank. Obviously stupid.

He'll definitely be right up there and a lot comes down to how Contador recovers from the Giro/if he's banned. Obvious instant favourite if no Bertie with Samu, Evans, Gesink fighting for the other steps imo.

LEOPARD will do well in the ITT with Canc taking every 2nd turn.

 

[Christian]

LEOPARD will do well in the ITT with Canc taking every 2nd turn.

Plus they'll have Monfort who isn't half bad either and Fuglsang who appears to emerging as a TT specialist. But they'll have to practice a lot until then - Tirreno TTT was pretty bad. On the other hand at least 5 riders have been on the same team for years so they should be OK

 

[taiwan]

I think Contador being absent will harm Schleck`s perormance but he might still be able to do enough. More responsibiity for the team also. I think his rivals will see a great opportunity to make their career by winning the Tour. Of course, he might just be a level above, I just mean he`ll be more vulnerable.

 

[dlwssonic]

Plus they'll have Monfort who isn't half bad either and Fuglsang who appears to emerging as a TT specialist. But they'll have to practice a lot until then - Tirreno TTT was pretty bad. On the other hand at least 5 riders have been on the same team for years so they should be OK

I think their one of the favorites for the TTT look at their team its super. monfort,cancellara,fuglsang,voigt,schleck1,schleck2,poosthuma,gerdermann,ogrady,wegmann. That makes one hell of a TTT squad

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

I think their one of the favorites for the TTT look at their team its super. monfort,cancellara,fuglsang,voigt,schleck1,schleck2,poosthuma,gerdermann,ogrady,wegmann. That makes one hell of a TTT squad

even so, a short TTT like this can benefit from some real quick guys.

 

[dlwssonic]

even so, a short TTT like this can benefit from some real quick guys.

yup but its certainly a very strong team both in the TTT and the mountains

 

[Sasquatch]

Leopard are not one of the favourites for the TTT.

None of their riders can match Cancellara so will struggle to keep his wheel. Unless they are well drilled and Cancellara slows down to their capabilities, they won't post a top 3 time. See their TTT earlier in the year and see Saxo's TTT in the Vuelta last year as proof of this fact.

Having Cancellara on a TTT squad is flirting with disaster because he's miles above everyone else in the discipline.

I will call it now. Leopard will not come top 3 in the TTT at the Tour de France.

And in regards to the original post. I sure as hell hope you're right. Hopefully it's Basso that's the TDF champion.

 

[boomcie]

I don't know who this "Schlekis" person is you're referring to in the thread name.
The only one I could find was a woman called Diana Schille (apparently nicknamed Diana Schlekis).

Link to her facebook.

Judging by the look of her, she will not win the Tour any time soon. So I'm with you on that.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Diana Schlekis is more suited to cobbles tho. I really her rate her for PR next year

 

[dlwssonic]

Leopard are not one of the favourites for the TTT.

None of their riders can match Cancellara so will struggle to keep his wheel. Unless they are well drilled and Cancellara slows down to their capabilities, they won't post a top 3 time. See their TTT earlier in the year and see Saxo's TTT in the Vuelta last year as proof of this fact.

Having Cancellara on a TTT squad is flirting with disaster because he's miles above everyone else in the discipline.

I will call it now. Leopard will not come top 3 in the TTT at the Tour de France.

And in regards to the original post. I sure as hell hope you're right. Hopefully it's Basso that's the TDF champion.

But I just can't see basso dropping andy

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

But I just can't see basso dropping andy

he wont. He is a diesel, he needs a steep climb to really do damage.
The course isn't that bad, it certainly isn't a 09'.
But it ain't no giro either

 

[dlwssonic]

he wont. He is a diesel, he needs a steep climb to really do damage.
The course isn't that bad, it certainly isn't a 09'.
But it ain't no giro either

yup I also mentioned that. He is just not explosive enought. Andy can sure drop basso on climbs like alpe and galiber or the many hills

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Judging by the level difference between Contador/A.Schleck and the rest on both Madeleine and Tourmalet, there is probably no-one who bridged that gap in a year time.

Can't see Evans and Basso doing that. And while Sammy Sanchez was 3rd best..can't see him closing the gap either.
Certainly not Gesink and Van den Broeck, even though I hope it.

But maybe by some miracle Andy is somehow slightly off-form, then it could become interesting. And, if he slacks too much in the mountains, the final ITT might still hurt him after all