What is going on with Andy Schleck?

[Archibald]

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.

he seemed to struggle to catch DeGendt today too - perhaps not well recovered from yesterday's "illness"

 

[jobiwan]

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.

He just didn't have it yesterday, says he.

It was a very bad day for me," Schleck communicated through his press officer in the evening. "I did not feel well and contrary to other days when I also felt irregular, it did not pass. I'm a little surprised as I had reassured myself on stage three. Once I got dropped, I did not climb flat out but it's clear that I had hoped for a better outcome

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/andy-schleck-dropped-in-tour-de-suisse-mountains

 

[saganftw]

is he already winner of mountain jersey in tds? i guess preparation is goin nicely

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

is he already winner of mountain jersey in tds? i guess preparation is goin nicely

he couldn't close a gap on de gendt going uphill.

a little concerning.

 

[jobiwan]

he couldn't close a gap on de gendt going uphill.

a little concerning.

I believe it's encouraging that he's racing at all.
Still 4 weeks till Luz Ardiden. He'll be fine.

 

[saganftw]

he couldn't close a gap on de gendt going uphill.

a little concerning.

exactly,not anywhere near top form but winning mountain jersey in major race thats impressive

 

[ManInFull]

I believe it's encouraging that he's racing at all.
Still 4 weeks till Luz Ardiden. He'll be fine.

Yes, his training seems to be going just fine. I hope that he and AC both come to the TdF in top form.

 

[patrick767]

He just didn't have it yesterday, says he.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/andy-schleck-dropped-in-tour-de-suisse-mountains

Yet today he had the energy to go on the attack, apparently to test his form. That's a hell of a swing in a day.

 

[hfer07]

there are three reasons for his latest performance:
1-) belongs to the clinic (blood bags)
2-) His shape is extremely poor(go to the upper reason)
3-) he's bluffing & going to massacre everyone-except Contador- this July

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

exactly,not anywhere near top form but winning mountain jersey in major race thats impressive

I'd expect a tour contender like schleck to be able to take more then 30 seconds from de gendt on an 8km climb even on base form with some racing in the legs. He obviously was trying to some extent, this was poor.

He'll probably be fine tho.

 

[ferryman]

Andy is as Andy does. Nothing to dissect here. Tune in July 14 and Luz-Ardiden.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Interesting thing about Contador, since we're talking about Andy possibly bluffing, is that AC doesn't bluff. He just comes to the race, beats people silly, and leaves. When he's dropped, it's because he's really tired, not because he hides his form.

Schleck better hope he wins the Tour, because he's put all his eggs in this basket.

 

[hfer07]

I would've loved to watch RUJANO & CONTADOR dropping Andy's a$$ on each climb of the Tour-that might happen next year though

 

[jobiwan]

I would've loved to watch RUJANO & CONTADOR dropping Andy's a$$ on each climb of the Tour-that might happen next year though

Well I would like to see Andy drop Contador on each and every climb of the Tour then.

(Not that there's much chance of that happening, however.)

 

[jens_attacks]

ok we all know how andy's going.so let's derail the thread a little bit.
RUJANOOOOOOOOOO!!!
i've read that androni won't go in vuelta a venezuela because they will race brixia tour in that period.maybe there is a chance even to see rujano murdering everybody on kitzbuehel earlier in july's osterreich rundfahrt,that would be awesome.
but in brixia tour we might have an epic battle indeed:jose rujano vs michael rasmussen !oh this will be so delightful to the eye.

 

[El Pistolero]

ok we all know how andy's going.so let's derail the thread a little bit.
RUJANOOOOOOOOOO!!!
i've read that androni won't go in vuelta a venezuela because they will race brixia tour in that period.maybe there is a chance even to see rujano murdering everybody on kitzbuehel earlier in july's osterreich rundfahrt,that would be awesome.
but in brixia tour we might have an epic battle indeed:jose rujano vs michael rasmussen !oh this will be so delightful to the eye.

Brixia Tour doesn't exist anymore?

 

[Duartista]

Brixia Tour doesn't exist anymore?

It seems to be back on.

 

[avantage]

exactly,not anywhere near top form but winning mountain jersey in major race thats impressive

Come on... Charteau was considered by many not a worthy KOM winner last year, so this year they change the point system.

Andy won TdS's KOM in the very same style as Charteau... Scoring easy in a breakaway, and not winning the last mountain of the day.


And come on, winning such a mountain stage must have worth an effort from him. It's just he doesn't have the legs. Now, 3-4 weeks to transform his form... Hm... There's a way...

 

[Archibald]

assuming there's no chemical assistance for either of them, an out of form Andy, a Giro fatigued Contador will make for a very interesting TdF as it should (in theory) bring the rest of the contenders into play

 

[Je ne sais quoi]

So, if Schleck fails to peak properly for the Tour it will be because he slacked off too much in the year since last July - saved or preserved himself a bit too much.

If Contador fails to peak properly it will be because he worked too hard.

We expect Christ-like performances from our favorite riders - they sacrifice themselves on the road on our behalf. Andy Slack's program is not exactly the stuff of legend.

 

[theswordsman]

I'm pretty sure that his losing fourteen minutes on a climb in Tour de Suisse won't keep favorites from marking him at the Tour, so forget bluffing. He's got the Time Trial Sunday, then probably at least one day off to recover, so he's got ten or eleven days to work with before the Tour. The last few of those days won't have much because guys want to start with fresh legs. Are the Luxembourg Nationals still coming, and will he ride there? Probably no hard training the day before those, and maybe the day after.


Once the race begins, his effort is controlled by the favorites and the peloton - I can't imagine a 196 kilometer sprinter's stage being more beneficial to him than the guy next to him, or making him a stronger climber.

 

[bassplayer88]

Andy finished 2.30 down on the winning pace today over a 30 odd km TT.

Surely this is bad news?

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Andy finished 2.30 down on the winning pace today over a 30 odd km TT.

Surely this is bad news?

Not really - he lost 2:09 in 26km last year.

 

[El Pistolero]

Not really - he lost 2:09 in 26km last year.

It was also bad news last year.

Two 50km time trials and he would lose like 8 minutes to guys like Leipheimer, Klöden and Contador.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Conta you can only assume would do a lot better TT this time around.
But we don't know if conta will have the legs in the mountains. Time will tell.

Against other GC men probably not so bad.
He is quote good in the 3rd week also.