Schleki's won't win TDF

[al_pacino]

how many times has Schleck been on his own after attacking on a mountain stage? He's shown he can finish ahead of the other contenders but very rarely on his own.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Oh, his climbing is okay. Just not better than last year. Still very good, mind you, but not Tour podium good.

I think he will be better in the Tour than now... I think his preparation route is much better this year.
Instead of Suisse, he takes the altitude training -> dauphiné -> altitude training route... same one as Jurgen Van den Broeck last year.

I think he'll benefit from that.
Also, he doesn't race much. Oman -> Tirreno -> Dauphine -> 3 classics ... He took a week off after the Tirreno and a week off after the 3 classics. He'll be fresh for the Tour as well.

 

[diorgen]

U better go to your local bookmaker and put 500 euro on that then, cos u will get amazing odds on that bet

look how skinny he is now, he's going to come out of nowhere like Lance in 99 (and for the same reasons) Bruyneel knows GT's

 

[Moondance]

In the "crazy predictions" thread, I stated that Andy Schleck will never win the Tour de France and I stand by that (though the prediction doesn't look good this year if Contador isn't there and Menchov won't be there either).

How long ago did you make the prediction? Because if you made it post 2010-TDF I would say that was highly risky indeed.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

How long ago did you make the prediction? Because if you made it post 2010-TDF I would say that was highly risky indeed.

It was in june last year. But if your talking post 2010 TDF but pre beef story came out I don't think it's more risky than pre 2010 TDF.

 

[Trevor FCR]

I don't think that AS has the mental strength to handle the pressure. He's not a good "planner," and if AC isn't there he probably will think that it will be an easy victory...which will mess up his mentality even more.
I'd LOVE to see Basso surprise Schleck...that would be just fabulous! But, if AC isn't there, and ASchleck wins, it just won't seem to be that worthy of a victory. ASchleck knows this. His mind has a lot to process. Even if AC isn't there, I think (and I am hoping) that Schleck will have a mental breakdown. Whether he makes crucial mistakes, or just can't get him mind to cooperate with his body, I just don't see him pulling it off.

 

[jens_attacks]

i think andy has a better chance of winning le tour if alberto IS there.he needs less pressure.of course he will win le tour de france,he has lots of years in front of him but i doubt that it will be this year i don't know why.

 

[theyoungest]

i think andy has a better chance of winning le tour if alberto IS there.he needs less pressure.of course he will win le tour de france,he has lots of years in front of him but i doubt that it will be this year i don't know why.

Andy Schleck is so much better than the rest, if Contador is not there he almost has to win.

 

[boomcie]

i think andy has a better chance of winning le tour if alberto IS there.he needs less pressure.of course he will win le tour de france,he has lots of years in front of him but i doubt that it will be this year i don't know why.

Me neither.

 

[cineteq]

Andy Schleck is so much better than the rest, if Contador is not there he almost has to win.

Can he TT?

 

[theyoungest]

Can he TT?

Yes he can. If he absolutely must. If there's a good TT-er relatively close to him on GC, it will probably be Cadel Evans, but I don't see him staying close enough to make up the time difference in the final TT.

 

[Christian]

But, if AC isn't there, and ASchleck wins, it just won't seem to be that worthy of a victory. ASchleck knows this.

I get what you're trying to say but whoever wins the Tour is always worthy. Sastre and Pereiro were worthy winners. Sure, the competition was a bit weaker those years but you still got to be there and you still got to deliver. And of course Basso, Evans and Van den Broeck, heck even Gesink aren't half bad either. Plus, nowadays in cycling half of the job is just showing up

 

[boomcie]

I get what you're trying to say but whoever wins the Tour is always worthy. Sastre and Pereiro were worthy winners. Sure, the competition was a bit weaker those years but you still got to be there and you still got to deliver. Plus, nowadays in cycling half of the job is just showing up

Sorry, I can't swallow that.

 

[jens_attacks]

sastre-yes
pereiro was second.

 

[Trevor FCR]

I get what you're trying to say but whoever wins the Tour is always worthy. Sastre and Pereiro were worthy winners. Sure, the competition was a bit weaker those years but you still got to be there and you still got to deliver. And of course Basso, Evans and Van den Broeck, heck even Gesink aren't half bad either. Plus, nowadays in cycling half of the job is just showing up

I think it means a lot to Schleck to "beat" Contador. He's said before he wants him there to beat him, and if Contador would get stripped of his 2010 victory, that he (Schleck) wouldn't want to be handed the victory.

I don't think he'll win either way either. He's always got something that goes wrong, or some mistake he makes. He doesn't seem mentally gathered yet.

 

[cineteq]

I think it means a lot to Schleck to "beat" Contador. He's said before he wants him there to beat him, and if Contador would get stripped of his 2010 victory, that he (Schleck) wouldn't want to be handed the victory.

I don't think he'll win either way either. He's always got something that goes wrong, or some mistake he makes. He doesn't seem mentally gathered yet.

He won't win, mainly because of this:
SCHLECK Andy 11 TEAM SAXO BANK 1h 07' 10" + 06' 14"
He lost 6+ min. in last year's TdF TT.

 

[taiwan]

He won't win, mainly because of this:
SCHLECK Andy 11 TEAM SAXO BANK 1h 07' 10" + 06' 14"
He lost 6+ min. in last year's TdF TT.

Fortunately, Cancellara wasn't very high on GC.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

And, the main GC contendors rode in fearce headwind, were the early starters had the wind reversed... that kinda makes a huge difference

 

[theyoungest]

He won't win, mainly because of this:
SCHLECK Andy 11 TEAM SAXO BANK 1h 07' 10" + 06' 14"
He lost 6+ min. in last year's TdF TT.

Did you actually watch that TT? For a while it even looked like he was going to beat Contador. Eventually he collapsed (sort of) but he showed that if he puts his mind to it he can really go a long way in a TT.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

He won't win, mainly because of this:
SCHLECK Andy 11 TEAM SAXO BANK 1h 07' 10" + 06' 14"
He lost 6+ min. in last year's TdF TT.

uhuh. also the other touted favorites (considering ac and the others riding the giro);
Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto @ 7.10
Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank @ 8.33
Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo @ 9.51
Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi @ 5.51 (the only one of the touted favorites who did better.. barely)

 

[dlwssonic]

He won't win, mainly because of this:
SCHLECK Andy 11 TEAM SAXO BANK 1h 07' 10" + 06' 14"
He lost 6+ min. in last year's TdF TT.

you gotta be kidding me the other gc contenders were around his time or some even worse than it plus he was very close to contador and he did the TT of his life. like dekker said it was the result of the conditions, even menchov who did a magic TT was quite far back. He might lose time to the others in this years TT but he can surely make up for it on the mountains. And he will probably gain time in the TTT.

 

[Christian]

uhuh. also the other touted favorites (considering ac and the others riding the giro);
Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto @ 7.10
Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank @ 8.33
Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo @ 9.51
Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi @ 5.51 (the only one of the touted favorites who did better.. barely)

I forgot about that. 3 minutes on Basso looks really impressive but then again he was one of the off-form Giro guys

 

[Parrulo]

well basso's performance shouldn't be considered. it was a miracle he finished the tour last year. he was not only off form but also sick on the last week. remember him being dropped on the first mountain when even the sprinters were hanging on?

still andy did a much better TT then every1 was expecting. but ofc we all know that Robertian gesinkllara will put 6 minutes into andy this year

 

[dlwssonic]

well basso's performance shouldn't be considered. it was a miracle he finished the tour last year. he was not only off form but also sick on the last week. remember him being dropped on the first mountain when even the sprinters were hanging on?

still andy did a much better TT then every1 was expecting. but ofc we all know that Robertian gesinkllara will put 6 minutes into andy this year

and lose 9 minutes to andy on the mountains

 

[cineteq]

you gotta be kidding me the other gc contenders were around his time or some even worse than it plus he was very close to contador and he did the TT of his life.

The fact of the matter, Alberto was way off his usual TT form that day.
Menchov's time confirms that.
That's why Andy's time was close to Alberto's, not because he did a great TT.