Will Andy Schleck ever win anything?

[BlinkFan]

Cant see him featuring in the Classics, climbs are not steep or long enough. TdF - unless he improves his TT he can forget it.

 

Didn't he win Liège–Bastogne–Liège a couple years back?

[jcza]

Didn't he win Liège–Bastogne–Liège a couple years back?

 

He did indeed in 2009 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/8019468.stm) forgot about that one.

[ScottCM]

Didn't he win Liège–Bastogne–Liège a couple years back?

 

He like that race and likes racing against Phillipe Gilbert

 

[gummibear]

Had this bunch drop me on the hills today.

Frank,Andy,Bob Jungels and Laurent Didier not sure who the girl and other guy was.

 

 

[ScottCM]

How's the vibe amongst them?

[jmic]

The will of a man is often underestimated.

He will be back.....

[ScottCM]

Schleck brothers to follow same build-up to Tour de France in 2014

 

 

After racing separate programmes for much of the last season they rode together, in 2012, Andy and Fränk Schleck look set to follow a similar build-up to the Tour de France in the colours of Trek Factory Racing next season.

According to Luxembourg newspaper Le Quotidien, the Schleck brothers will ride together at Paris-Nice, Critérium International, the Tour of the Basque Country, the Ardennes Classics, the Tour of Luxembourg and the Tour de Suisse as they prepare for the Tour.

As was the case in years gone by, the week of Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastoge-Liège will be the first target of the season, with the Tour de France the main objective. The Schleck brother last raced together at the Tour in 2011, when they finished second and third behind Cadel Evans.

"Paris-Nice will be an important first test, but it’s clear the first big morsel of the season will be the Ardennes Classics," Fränk Schleck told Le Quotidien.

Fränk Schleck will start his season at the Tour Down Under on January 21, his first race since he tested positive for the diuretic Xipamide at the 2012 Tour. Schleck’s one-year ban expired last July and he had hoped to race the Vuelta a España but but was unable to reach an agreement with outgoing RadioShack-Leopard backer Flavio Becca and sat out the remainder of the 2013 season, before rejoining the team in its new guise of Trek Factory Racing.

Andy Schleck’s 2014 campaign is set to begin later than his elder brother, at the Tour of Oman (February 18-22), but the pair will be reunited the following month at Paris-Nice and race together for the first time since the 2012 Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

As manager of RadioShack-Nissan in 2012, Johan Bruyneel devised separate racing programmes for the Schleck brothers for much of his tenure, sending Fränk Schleck to that year’s Giro d’Italia at short notice. Bruyneel was dismissed by RadioShack in October 2012 following the publication of USADA’s Reasoned Decision on the Lance Armstrong case, which detailed his involvement in the doping programme at US Postal Service.

[Smartie]

Had this bunch drop me on the hills today.

Frank,Andy,Bob Jungels and Laurent Didier not sure who the girl and other guy was.

 

 

OMG! Roadies riding two abreast and in the middle of the road!

[Cav']

Had this bunch drop me on the hills today.

Frank,Andy,Bob Jungels and Laurent Didier not sure who the girl and other guy was.

 

 

How could you!

 

Get dropped by Frandy!

 

I bet you didnt expect Andy Schleck coming past you while training.

 

Ps. How quick did reach for your phone there.

['Dale]

Cool pic, Gummi'

[ScottCM]

Andy and Frank Schleck hoping to rebound in 2014

 

"Fränk will be ready to compete. He wants to come out attacking. He's been training hard to have a good season. For Andy, it's still an important year, trying to be a racer again, so his programme will be very dependent on his condition," Guercilena told CW.

"Andy recovered a lot in 2013 from what he didn't do in 2012 but he is still far off with respect to his 2011 form. So, it's important that he has a good winter and is ready for the start of the season. He doesn't have to win at the start of the season but needs to have better form than in 2013."

They will reach a milestone in April at the Ardennes Classics - Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Fränk won the Amstel Gold in 2006 and Andy Liège in 2009. Both riders always want to perform well in the classics before switching off and returning for the Tour.

"Andy should be able to have good form and compete with his rivals," Guercilena added. "After that milestone, we will see what's possible in the Tour for Andy."

[jmic]

http://www.bicycling.co.za/video/andy-schleck-im-really-confident-2014/

[ScottCM]

Andy Schleck: “The advantage is that I’ll have Fränk on my side in the Tour.”

 

 

 

http://news.velonation.com/Men/Road/Sa_Sl/2014/original/Schleck_Andy_TrekHS14-1.jpgAndy Schleck (Trek Factory Racing) looks ahead to 2014, having had two disappointing seasons in the years before. 2012 saw the Luxembourg former Tour champion sit out most of the year through injury, while 2013 saw him struggle to recapture his form of previous seasons. Many of his problems have been attributed to the fact that elder brother Fränk was serving a one-year suspension for much of last year, and was not rehired by the RadioShack-Leopard team when cleared to race again.

 

The main target for Andy Schleck this year will be the Tour de France, as usual, where he hopes to perform considerably better than in 2013, where he rarely featured at the front of the race and finished a disappointing 20th overall.

 

"It should be better in 2014, of course,” he said. "I am very aware of this. I need to hone my time trial skills and my climbing too. I want to keep getting better. Regarding the time trial, I’m working a lot more kilometres on the time trial bike. So I hope I improve in this discipline.”

 

Although Fränk was not taken back by RadioShack-Leopard, he has been hired by the new Trek Factory Racing team that has taken over its licence. This means that the two brothers will be reunited at the Tour once again, where they will hope to recreate the double act that saw them fill two steps of the Paris podium in 2011, after Andy had been awarded the 2010 race.

 

“The advantage is that I’ll have Fränk on my side in the Tour,” Andy said. “Again it gives me a very good feeling. It's really too early to look ahead to the Tour de France, who is and who is not going to be good. There is still half a year to go, there is still a lot that can happen, but the group of favourites for the final victory will be limited again. I hope I can certainly be part of it.”

 

http://news.velonation.com/Men/Road/Sa_Sl/2014/original/Schleck_Frank_TrekHS14-1.jpgFränk Schleck served a one year suspension after testing positive for banned diuretic Xipamide during the 2012 Tour de France. He was cleared to return to racing on July 14th of last year but, since he was not taken back by RadioShack-Leopard, he has effectively served an 18-month ban.

 

"I've been out for a while due to 'circumstances,' but now I'm really ready to serve,” Fränk said. “I am eager to race again. I still love to ride my bike. This is and remains my passion. It is simply in our genes.

 

“I continued to train and take care of myself well,” he added. “I watched what I did and what I ate. My motivation is still great. I will begin my season no differently to usual. I've been around long enough as a rider to know what is good or bad for me. Of course we get guidelines from the team and a training plan to follow. My first focus is the races in the Ardennes.”

 

So eager is he to return to the peloton, that Fränk Schleck will be making his earliest ever start to a professional road season, at the very first WorldTour race of the year.

 

"I’ll start to my season in the Tour Down Under in Australia,” he explained. “There we will lay the Foundation for what should follow. A second highlight has to be the Tour de France. What comes next, we will then see. However, I am ready. The hunger for racing is immense.”

[ScottCM]

Luxembourg rider makes his racing debut with Trek Factory Racing

Andy Schleck made a low-key season debut at the Tour of Oman, finishing 83rd in the peloton behind stage winner Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol), but explained to Cyclingnews that he is confident that his career is back on track after a solid winter of training.

"The first race of the season is always kind of special but I think I'm going to be okay. I'm not nervous about the racing because I've been training good all winter. The early stages are for the sprinters and then it'll be more important to see where I stand," he told Cyclingnews.

Schleck looked lean as he rode in his black Trek Factory Racing kit. He also appears quietly confident that his physical problems and alleged psychological problems of the last two seasons are behind him. Other riders have revealed that Schleck was always motivated during training, convincing his teammates to clock up extra kilometres and miss coffee stops during training rides.

"The weather was pretty good in Luxembourg and so I was able to do more and better training than before," he said.

"We also did some training camps in Spain in December and then in Mallorca in January. We went back to Mallorca for a week before coming here too. We've been training good and I hope we can see the benefits of the work we've done."

Staying with the best 10

Schleck is looking for a performance and result that will further boost his moral and confidence for the rest of the 2104 season. He is curious to test himself against the likes of Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), especially on the mountain finish at Jabal Al Akhdhar (Green Mountain) on Saturday's fifth stage.

"I think it's too early to say now who is going to have a good season and who not. This race is about finding the racing rhythm," he said.

"There are some hard mountain stages coming up but I think the usual guys will be in front: Froome and Purito. We'll find out if I can go with them or not... I'm not specifically looking for a result that looks good on paper but I'd hope that on the climbs I can stay with the 10 best in front."

The Trek Factory Racing team has been built from the ashes of the Radioshack team. Andy Schleck and his brother Frank opted to stay with the team, accepting a lower salary in the hope they can resurrect their careers. The Tour of Oman is the first time the Schleck brothers have raced together since Frank was banned for doping at the 2012 Tour de France.

"It's definitely a new structure and we've had some changes but I'm sure we'll soon be in good shape for the Classics with Fabian (Cancellara) and then me and Frank back together for the stage races. It's nice to be back racing with him here. We didn't have that for a long time," Andy said with family pride.

The Trek Factory Racing team no longer orbits around the Schleck brothers, but Andy is convinced he can return to success in stage races and possible even Grand Tours. He believes he is too young to be written off just yet.

"I'm still young even if this is my ninth professional season," he said when asked if he considers himself part of the younger generation in the team or part of the old guard.

"I've got a few years on my back but I'm only 28. I've got plenty of time ahead of me to do well."

[Cav']

Both sisters will be competing in Paris-Nice.

 

Would be good to see what form they have compared to Nibali in 2014.

['Dale]

Where's he going? His performances?

Will Trek renew his contract in '15?