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The beginning of Andy Schleck

May 19, 2011
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I havent followed pro cycling for that long. Maybe two years but I've seen some new talents rise through the ranks but im very interesed to know how the "talks" were when Andy Schleck broke trough the ranks.

Did he do some awesome rides when he was U23 or how was he as a U23 rider?
Was he touted as new big thing straight away?

When he got second in the Giro people must've been quite astounded no?

It would be nice to hear some comments about him.
 
Yes that were the stories by Frank.

But Andy wasn't that special in results in U23 or youth racing. He did some good classique des alpes result. But even while finishing high, he still finished in the same time as Lars Boom :p

In his first year of pro he rode as support and still did pretty well (top 20). In his 2nd year he was immediately 2nd in the Giro and his talent became clear for everyone.
 
Mar 31, 2010
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Herr Katt said:
I havent followed pro cycling for that long. Maybe two years but I've seen some new talents rise through the ranks but im very interesed to know how the "talks" were when Andy Schleck broke trough the ranks.

Did he do some awesome rides when he was U23 or how was he as a U23 rider?
Was he touted as new big thing straight away?

When he got second in the Giro people must've been quite astounded no?

It would be nice to hear some comments about him.

andy was a huge talent in juniors and basically skipped u23 to ride with csc as a pro. his great potential was really missed by no one. a typical big talent I'd say and he made it true, well until this year :L haha
 
Mar 31, 2010
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Dekker_Tifosi said:
Yes that were the stories by Frank.

But Andy wasn't that special in results in U23 or youth racing. He did some good classique des alpes result. But even while finishing high, he still finished in the same time as Lars Boom :p

In his first year of pro he rode as support and still did pretty well (top 20). In his 2nd year he was immediately 2nd in the Giro and his talent became clear for everyone.

you always have to call a dutch rider right and how amazing that is? :rolleyes:

nobody cares about lars boom here. in juniors boom was 12 kg lighter than now and when become older his body changed as many do. then you can say what a rider type someone will be.

andy schleck was built like a plank and still is
 
will10 said:
He was king of the mountains at the Tour of Britain in 2006. After that there was no stopping him.
You're saying Tiernan Locke is the new Andy Schleck? :eek:

Among the pros, first it was mostly his teammates who said "this kid is unbelievable". And then came the Giro 2007 and we could see for ourselves. It's hard to believe now, but once he was a very exciting talent ;)
 
I remember watching him back in 2004 or 2005 when there were only whisperings of him as a neophyte on the CSC team.

To be honest, there was definitely talk of him being the more talented of the Schlecks, but it wasn't as though people were calling him the next Coppi or Merckx, which he isn't. He's about at where I thought he would be, a legit GC contender, but not a guaranteed victory in every race.

I think more people got excited by him in the 2008 Tour than they did by his build up as a young rider.
 
Aug 23, 2012
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Guimard talked about him in 2004, he said was a classy climber like Laurent Fignon or something like that. He did a great Tour of Deutchsland in 2006 and shone in the mountain of Romandie in 2007 before the Giro.
 
It's shame really with Andy. I remember - not only from Riis himself - but people who had watched this kid. Pretty much speechless. A ridiculous talent in the making.

Imagine if he had exploited that talent with training and a bit of passion to the sport.

He's obviously still a fantastic bike rider but I'm sure he could have got so much more out of himself if he bothered from the beginning.
 
Dec 27, 2010
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theyoungest said:
You're saying Tiernan Locke is the new Andy Schleck? :eek:

Among the pros, first it was mostly his teammates who said "this kid is unbelievable". And then came the Giro 2007 and we could see for ourselves. It's hard to believe now, but once he was a very exciting talent ;)

Don't be silly. Tiernan Locke will be find winning the Tour far easier than Andy Schleck did.
 
Mar 18, 2009
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At the 2005 Tour of Georgia he was in the lead group of 8 or so with Julich, Floyd, Levi, TommyD, etc. when Julich had a mechanical. Andy switched bikes with him and waited for the team car. Took Julich's bike from the car, rode up to the contenders, switched bikes with Julich again and towed him back up to the group again.

From that point on, on the rare occasions when Andy was mentioned the discussion was "That was a flash of the future" vs "That was a one time thing".

Not that he was considered a star in the making or anything. When the 2007 Giro was about to start I distinctly remember Riis talking about hoping Andy could put in "a stellar performance to get a top 20 overall and support our man for the Gc, Dave". EDIT: Yes, that was Zabriskie
 
Mar 31, 2010
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issoisso said:
At the 2005 Tour of Georgia he was in the lead group of 8 or so with Julich, Floyd, Levi, TommyD, etc. when Julich had a mechanical. Andy switched bikes with him and waited for the team car. Took Julich's bike from the car, rode up to the contenders, switched bikes with Julich again and towed him back up to the group again.

From that point on, on the rare occasions when Andy was mentioned the discussion was "That was a flash of the future" vs "That was a one time thing".

Not that he was considered a star in the making or anything. When the 2007 Giro was about to start I distinctly remember Riis talking about hoping Andy could put in "a stellar performance to get a top 20 overall and support our man for the Gc, Dave". EDIT: Yes, that was Zabriskie

yes he was. I can't remember almost a rider receiving more hype since turning pro than him
 
Mar 18, 2009
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Ryo Hazuki said:
yes he was. I can't remember almost a rider receiving more hype since turning pro than him

Well, we all know things on your planet work differently than ours, Mr. Andy-fan :p

For kicks, since I'm bored, I just searched the typical cycling websites and forums for news or talk of him in 2005 and 2006. There's basically nothing at all about him other than him turning pro, his wins at the Sachsen-Tour from breakaways, and then being given a new contract in late 2006
 
"Still an amateur, Schleck won the 2004 Flèche du Sud stage race at 18. As the Danish national team were in the race, word spread to the Danish Team CSC manager Bjarne Riis. Riis asked Fränk, already on Team CSC, about his brother, and Andy started as a stagiaire for Team CSC on September 1, 2004.[3] He secured a professional contract with CSC, and made his debut in a ProTour race at age 19 (the 2005 Volta a Catalunya). "
 

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