What is going on with Andy Schleck?

[Midnightfright]

I

Well not quite everyone....

So u think cadel will be able to match his climbing?

 

[RedheadDane]

Apparently he needs to lose some weight

http://sporten.tv2.dk/cykling/article.php/id-40797877:tynde-schleck-jeg-skal-tabe-mig.html

187 centimeters tall Andy Schleck weighs just 69 kilo, yet he thinks himself, he should lose weight if he is to threaten Alberto Contador in the mountains during the Tour de France

 

[Publicus]

its just like how I always here the cliche oh contador didnt have such great form in the tdf blah blah blah he had a bad day. Well then thats his fault then.

No one has said otherwise. His form was what it was last year. And that's not a cliche. Did you mean anecdote? Excuse?

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

That birthday cake is coming back to haunt him

 

[El Pistolero]

Really???

SO are you saying that August was named after Augustus Caesar, and has 31 days to match July???

And September is named after the 7th month

Oh wait

 

[El Pistolero]

its just like how I always here the cliche oh contador didnt have such great form in the tdf blah blah blah he had a bad day. Well then thats his fault then.

His form was definitely bad there. Normally he can kick Menchov's *** in a time trial and look what happened last year. Not even close. At all.

In Mende he couldn't even drop Jrod. Compared to what he did this year with Jrod at the Giro... It really tells you something about how good he is in top shape and that Andy will need to step up his game if he wants to beat Contador. His only chance is that Contador sucks after this year's Giro.

 

[Jan the Man]

As has been already said this is Andy's usual way of riding Suisse.

I actually think he is showing more this year pre tour than last year. Come the Tour he will be fine and competing with Bertie on the Cols in the second and third week.

 

[seaby71]

Wow, not only do you write like you flunked 3th grade, you might consider taking up another sport.

Sorry did not know that the English police were here. Maybe you should have more input on the topic rather than trying to put people down. You must feel so superior LOL

 

[seaby71]

PS: its 3rd not 3th genius

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

His form was definitely bad there. Normally he can kick Menchov's *** in a time trial and look what happened last year. Not even close. At all.

In Mende he couldn't even drop Jrod. Compared to what he did this year with Jrod at the Giro... It really tells you something about how good he is in top shape and that Andy will need to step up his game if he wants to beat Contador. His only chance is that Contador sucks after this year's Giro.

To be fair

tour 10; frod top form
giro 11': jrod rode himself into form, was peaking at the end.

not comparable.

---
I don't but the whole AC wasn't in great form either, more like AS had bridged the gap. Maybe he wasn't his best best, but he was close I bet.

has ac himself ever said he wasn't at his best?

 

[El Pistolero]

Yes, he has. He said he had quite a few bad days(but didn't want to say which days exactly). And he also got sick right before the Tour and was on antibiotics which is why he skipped the Nationals. He also said he hardly slept the day before the time trial.

And you say Jrod was peaking at the end? Well, Contador toyed with him on stage 19 and still finished in front of him while waiting for Tiralongo.

 

[ultimobici]

There is a thread around here where it was diagnosed ad nausem. The conclusion was that precisely as you hypothesized. Of course that's just forum speculation, Andy's never admitted what actually happened. Just that he had a fire in his belly!

Seems he has not conquered shifting yet. Around 3 minutes in!

http://youtu.be/kLfW-N3onyI

 

[Dutchsmurf]

And September is named after the 7th month

Oh wait

It is really, but years ago the FIFA was that afraid of cycling becoming the main sport that they decided to add another two months in which there would be no cycling.

 

[HL2037]

A documentary on Andy Schleck will premier in the beginning of july. A camera crew has followed him for a year. Then we shall find out what he does in the other 11 months!

http://www.dr.dk/Sporten/Dokumentar/AndySchleck/2011/06/14/091415.htm

 

[Bavarianrider]

Apparently he needs to lose some weight

http://sporten.tv2.dk/cykling/article.php/id-40797877:tynde-schleck-jeg-skal-tabe-mig.html

We desperatlty need a BMI regulation like in ski jumping!

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Yes, he has. He said he had quite a few bad days(but didn't want to say which days exactly). And he also got sick right before the Tour and was on antibiotics which is why he skipped the Nationals. He also said he hardly slept the day before the time trial.

And you say Jrod was peaking at the end? Well, Contador toyed with him on stage 19 and still finished in front of him while waiting for Tiralongo.

No I mean he came out of the giro with better form then what he had there. He was merely showing signs of improvement as the race went on.
There is no doubt he had better form at last tour then at the giro.

Link to him saying he was bad at the tour please, I never read it. Not saying your lying, just wanna read it.

The ITT I get, because that is one place he was worse then usual, I thought he just got in a bad rhythm or something, struggled with the pressure maybe (could be tho, considering he didn't sleep).

I think there is very little difference in their climbing ability.

 

[movingtarget]

He is playing games as usual, making it hard for people to know what his form is really like. Although I am sure that the this week has not gone to script. His brother does not look too crash hot either. First week of the TDF should reveal how good the form is even though that is not the hard week of the Tour. If he is leaking seconds here and there like he used to it might be cause for his fans to worry. I think he is bluffing at least part of the time.

 

[El Pistolero]

No I mean he came out of the giro with better form then what he had there. He was merely showing signs of improvement as the race went on.
There is no doubt he had better form at last tour then at the giro.

Link to him saying he was bad at the tour please, I never read it. Not saying your lying, just wanna read it.

The ITT I get, because that is one place he was worse then usual, I thought he just got in a bad rhythm or something, struggled with the pressure maybe (could be tho, considering he didn't sleep).

I think there is very little difference in their climbing ability.

That's true, but he wasn't weak during the last week of the Giro at all and he still looked like a junior compared to Contador. I don't have a link, but I remember him saying it in a couple of interviews after the Tour. Probably news articles on this site. He never said he was bad at the Tour, just that he had a couple of bad days where things could have gone wrong if the competition had something that resembles balls. And he was also sick before the Tour which isn't a good sign ever. Look at this year's FW, he was also sick before that race as well and he sucked donkey balls. Not that he could have won that race, but should have done better than 11th place or something.

I don't know how Contador's form will be after this Giro, but don't think you can use the 2010 Tour as an example for his top form compared to Andy. I believe a Contador in this year's Giro form would always crush Andy, especially in the time trials. And let's be honest, I expect him to drop his chain at least once

 

[Angliru]

To be fair

tour 10; frod top form
giro 11': jrod rode himself into form, was peaking at the end.

not comparable.

---
I don't but the whole AC wasn't in great form either, more like AS had bridged the gap. Maybe he wasn't his best best, but he was close I bet.

has ac himself ever said he wasn't at his best?

Yes. In a ProCycling magazine cover article:

"Looking back at last year's Tour, I was not at the same level as I had been before and I think that was down to the that it was a very intense year. At the end of 2009, I didn't know whether of not I was going to be continuing with Astana. Then, from the very moment I confirmed I was staying with the team, everyone started to question its strength and my objective after that was to ensure that both before and during races every possible detail was looked after as well as possible.

That provided me with extra demands because not only did I have to focus on training at 100 percent to prepare for every race but I also had to devote time to the other riders, speaking to them, motivating them, doing training camps, and that all resulted in me getting more worn down than usual. When we got to the Tour de France I was exhausted. In that final time trial you could see the result of that clearly. In 2009, my preparations went really well and I arrived at the race fresh. But last year in the run-up to the Tour I was a little bit ill, my last two weeks of training before the Tour did not go as I would have liked them to, and I also took more holiday after the Classics than I would have done normally"

Excerpt of cover interview/article on Contador in the June 2011 issue of ProCycling magazine. Peter Cossins was the interviewer/writer.

 

[El Pistolero]

In other words: Andy is going in the Tour with perhaps overconfidence

 

[movingtarget]

I doubt that Contador will be able to replicate his Giro form but he may not have to to win the TDF.

 

[Angliru]

In other words: Andy is going in the Tour with perhaps overconfidence

It wouldn't surprise me. He's has already stated that he is the favorite for the overall. If he's trying to "bluff", if that might be what he's trying to do according to a CN article, who is supposed be fooled by this? Are his opponents now supposed to anticipate dropping him on the climbs, issuing endless attacks, while he hangs on the back doing an LA imitation only to explode on the final climb when his suckered opponents and their teams have already shot their loads/burned all their matches?

 

[Archibald]

I don't know how Contador's form will be after this Giro, but don't think you can use the 2010 Tour as an example for his top form compared to Andy. I believe a Contador in this year's Giro form would always crush Andy, especially in the time trials. And let's be honest, I expect him to drop his chain at least once

I'd take a punt that his form from the Giro to TdF will probably leave him in the same form he had at the 2010 TdF. He was below par last year, and I feel that he will slip to this level as the TdF progresses through the 3 weeks. And as movingtarget points out, he may not need to be right at the top of his game/form to beat schlecklet, so this may still be okay for him to rack up another TdF win.

 

[Boeing]

Perhaps he feels that a hard effort beyond anaerobic threshold will be difficult to recover from in 3 weeks. Some of these guys pinning it recently are no where near GC contention

He looks to be at the best weight of his pre tour career and has never looked tested to me anyway from what I can tell on the tele and from the finish at Baldy. Cruise control. whether that works or not is another story.

Not like TJ yesterday digging for Gu a 3k from the finish I mean

 

[patrick767]

Say what you will about Andy not intending to push hard in Suisse, but he could have at least tried harder on the last climb yesterday to help his brother's podium chances. He got dropped at the foot of the climb and was thus useless to Frank. He could have been a big help without going completely all out.