Should Andy skip the Tour next year & do the Giro instead?

[hfer07]

After this result-I'd encourage him to take a different approach & prepare wholeheartedly for either the Giro or the Vuelta, so he can get a taste of Victory and reboot his mind & skills-specially the ITT, to pursue the Tour in the future with a different attitude...

Please opine

 

[sartoris]

Agreed. Otherwise, the psychological handicap of being the eternal second will be too much for him to bear.

Time to move on, Andy & Frank. You're born a TTrialer, like you're born a climber. Not much for them to do in that respect (improving their TT skills, I mean. I'm sure they've worked on it a lot)

 

[sultanofhyd]

Agreed. Otherwise, the psychological handicap of being the eternal second will be too much for him to bear.

Time to move on, Andy & Frank. You're born a TTrialer, like you're born a climber. Not much for them to do in that respect (improving their TT skills, I mean. I'm sure they've worked on it a lot)

When featherweights like Rujano can do decent TT's there is no reason why the Schlecks cant improve theirs. Their physique is not a problem.

 

[Mambo95]

Change the word 'Andy' for the word 'Cadel' and you'll find loads of threads like this all over the internet from the past three years. He's only 26, he'll win the Tour one day.

 

[maltiv]

You're all talking as if Andy did a bad TT, but he was 17th. Can't expect much more from a pure climber. His problem was his inability to actually gain time in the mountains. In 2010 form he would have taken 1-2 minutes on Evans on every MTF.

 

[Duartista]

When featherweights like Rujano can do decent TT's there is no reason why the Schlecks cant improve theirs. Their physique is not a problem.

The Schlecks' did perfectly decent TTs today. I don't think they'll ever do much better than top 20 in a non-mountain TT. In order to win a GT, they simply need to take more time in the mountains.

 

[Carols]

When featherweights like Rujano can do decent TT's there is no reason why the Schlecks cant improve theirs. Their physique is not a problem.

Plenty of 'climbers' have learned to time trial, Sammy Sanchez and one Alberto Contador to name two.

Get out the ITT bike and learn to ride it Schlecks....

But Yes I'd recommend they try the Vuelta and/or Giro. Will Andy's ego allow that???

 

[sultanofhyd]

The Schlecks' did perfectly decent TTs today. I don't think they'll ever do much better than top 20 in a non-mountain TT. In order to win a GT, they simply need to take more time in the mountains.

But there is no special category in the GC for pure climbers and there is no way Schleck will ever take enough time out of a fresh Contador in the mountains. He blew his only chance.

 

[Jeanne]

Agreed. Otherwise, the psychological handicap of being the eternal second will be too much for him to bear.

too bad he already was second in the Giro

but I also would like to see him doing another Tour than the Tour de France AND take it serious there. But I have some doubts he will.

 

[Carols]

The Schlecks' did perfectly decent TTs today. I don't think they'll ever do much better than top 20 in a non-mountain TT. In order to win a GT, they simply need to take more time in the mountains.

It as dreadfully embaressing display IMO, especially for someone who said:
"I'll start last tomorrow, and my motivation is great, my legs are super so I'm confident I can actually keep this jersey until Paris. 57 seconds is a lot, and when you have the yellow jersey it gives you wings..."

Overconfidence instead of Hard Work, Andy's annual downfall....

 

[Duartista]

But there is no special category in the GC for pure climbers and there is no way Schleck will ever take enough time out of a fresh Contador in the mountains. He blew his only chance.

Andy won't be facing a fresh Contador in every GT he rides. Contador might be banned next year; he may try the double again in future; he is 3 years older than Andy. He'll get more chances - whether he is able to take them is another matter, of course.

 

[Duartista]

It as dreadfully embaressing display IMO, especially for someone who said:
"I'll start last tomorrow, and my motivation is great, my legs are super so I'm confident I can actually keep this jersey until Paris. 57 seconds is a lot, and when you have the yellow jersey it gives you wings..."

Overconfidence instead of Hard Work, Andy's annual downfall....

It wasn't embarassing at all, he gave it everything. His only hope was Evans having an off-day, and the opposite happened.

 

[maltiv]

Plenty of 'climbers' have learned to time trial, Sammy Sanchez and one Alberto Contador to name two.

Get out the ITT bike and learn to ride it Schlecks....

But Yes I'd recommend they try the Vuelta and/or Giro. Will Andy's ego allow that???

Alberto Contador is not a climber who learned to time trial, his first pro win was a TT at Tour de Pologne...I don't know about Sammy but I think he's always been a good TTer too.

 

[turtlesoup]

He should race whichever tour AC isnt racing as his first. I imagine he should stay away from the Giro because scarponi and nibali are both better than him and basso will probably go back to the giro after this years showing at the tour. Leaving him with the Vuelta most likely. Ya hes young and has alot of time but he shouldnt waste it banging his head against a brick wall either. If he shows up at form to the vuelta he would give Anton a huge race for his money.

 

[ggusta]

giro/tdf double for Andy in '12. 2nd place in both, of course.

 

[erader]

After this result-I'd encourage him to take a different approach & prepare wholeheartedly for either the Giro or the Vuelta, so he can get a taste of Victory and reboot his mind & skills-specially the ITT, to pursue the Tour in the future with a different attitude...

Please opine

the way schleck whined about the TDF course this year he better stay away from the giro. my advice to AS is to stop the whining and bragging and let his legs do the talking.

erader

 

[Roninho]

But there is no special category in the GC for pure climbers and there is no way Schleck will ever take enough time out of a fresh Contador in the mountains. He blew his only chance.

Let's say he declines when he is +- 33, which leaves him 5-6-7 chances to win the TDF. I'm not expecting Contador to win the next 7, so imo he can win a couple. However he blew a great chance with contador in weaker form, imo bad tactics in the pyrinees cost them the tour. Andy seemed more worried about him and/or Frank possibly losing time then trying to gain time on Evans and Contador.

Anyway, as for not going for the TDF but for the Giro and/or Vuelta. Imo a bad suggestion, the kid has finished 2nd twice in the TDF, then you are to good of a rider to not go for a win in the TDF. A guy like basso, sure he won't win the TDF so focus and try to win a giro again, but Andy? Imo no.

 

[fixedgear]

When featherweights like Rujano can do decent TT's there is no reason why the Schlecks cant improve theirs. Their physique is not a problem.

Sure they can improve, but the question is by how much and how? Last year was a fluke. Today was more indicative of where they stand in terms of TT ability. I don't think they will ever improve enough to rival AC. Maybe Andy as he matures and AC declines he can get to within 45 seconds. But most likely Andy will lose a bit in the mountains to improve his TT skills.

I thought he might have gotten lucky this year like Sastre did in 08, however Evans was injured so Evans most likely would have won in 08.

 

[Wallace]

As long as the goal is to have both brothers do well, neither of them will win. They need to be a lot smarter and lot more ruthless in their tactics--and one of them has to totally sacrifice his chances in support of the other. Until they do that, all they're going to do is have race results like this year's LBL and this year's Tour.

In one of the interviews after LBL, Frank answered the question of why they didn't try to work over Gilbert by saying something to the effect that after what he saw in this year's classics, when weaker riders teamed up to beat Cancellara, he and Andy decided they didn't want to win that way. Well, guess what: that's how you win races. It's called tactics. If they've learned from this Tour that the one-two punch thing isn't working, then they're on the way to learning how to win a GT. If not, not.

 

[icefire]

Andy to the Giro? They'll have lots of downhill finishes ready for Nibali.

 

[SarahDane]

If he does the Giro, he might miss a Tour where the TTs can be neutralized by the reigning TT-champion, where there is a 30 km/h limit on the descend, and Contador might be banned. That's a second place missed right there.

 

[hrotha]

Paris-Nice, Ardennes, California, Dauphiné, Tour de France, Italian August classics, Vuelta, Lombardy.

Just, you know, race to win. He'll teach his body to be in the red more often, he'll improve his descending skills, he'll be in a ton of different tactical situations where he'll gain experience. He'll make a palmares for himself, which will also turn a 2nd at the Tour from a failure into a pretty nice result.

 

[Anonymous]

I wonder if the Schlecks might base their plans on what happens with Contadors appeal.

Personally, I think one should ride the tour and one should ride the Giro. Theyve shown again this year that when they ride together they lose the plot

 

[Aleajactaest]

You're all talking as if Andy did a bad TT, but he was 17th. Can't expect much more from a pure climber. His problem was his inability to actually gain time in the mountains. In 2010 form he would have taken 1-2 minutes on Evans on every MTF.

They loaded the tour for him and he still lost. Normally there would have been a prologue and another ITT. His only hope is to learn to suffer. The ITT is all about how much pain you're willing to endure to win. Cadel was sweating bullets all through the race while AS hardly looked like he was trying. That might be physiology but is sure didn't look like Andy wanted it.

 

[Altitude]

They loaded the tour for him and he still lost. Normally there would have been a prologue and another ITT. His only hope is to learn to suffer. The ITT is all about how much pain you're willing to endure to win. Cadel was sweating bullets all through the race while AS hardly looked like he was trying. That might be physiology but is sure didn't look like Andy wanted it.

Seriously? Andy Schleck wasn't trying in the TT today? Give me a break.