Guest Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 At least he beat C*ntador, who without his Super Beef diet is just not the same druggie...ooops meant to say rider. That post scares me for a number of reasons and 1) being that you think Clenbuteral will make you win the TDF, 2) that he doesnt use it anymore, 3) you never took any thought into how hard the Giro was compared to this years TDF that he peaked for and won by 6min, 4) then tried to race the TDF 6 weeks later 5) if you take his mishaps away he would of easily finished ahead of Andy overall, 6)you think Andy is clean. But atleast we agree Cadel was a worthy winner and this is afterall the Hub where it is loaded with experts who know everything.
bontie Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 It's the bike!!!!!! The Shiv is just not up to a decent Time Trial. Moral of the story, if you want to win the Tour de France on the last day in the Time Trial............buy a BMC. (Bad Machine for Cadel) Leopard TREK - the Shiv is very last year ...
kosmonooit Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 I wonder how that electronic Shimano gear kit panned out?
javadude Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 This pretty much sums up my feeling about Andy: http://www.bigringriding.com/post/573111113/andys-race-face "ANDY. I’D SAY YOU’RE A CERT FOR A PODIUM FINISH THIS SUMMER, BUT YOU’RE NO BIG RING HERO YET. KEEP PRACTISING THAT RACE FACE, SPORT."
raptor Posted July 27, 2011 Posted July 27, 2011 Best thing for Andy will be if he and his brother are on seperate teams and can ride against each other,
LeTurbo Posted July 27, 2011 Posted July 27, 2011 Shame. Andy's another Raymond Poulidor (2nd three times, 3rd five times).
nochain Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 Time trial performance is about power to drag ratio. A good climber may have a very good power to weight ratio, but on a TT, absolute power helps more than good power to weight.It is safe to assume that all the top guys have had their TT positions optimized in a wind tunnel, so the only thing to work on is increasing power output over 50 to 60 mins. This is very very hard to do if you are already in top shape - you hit a genetic limit, and the only way around this is to dope. Take Basso, for example - he was way off Armstrong in TTs, then joined dr. Fuentez and became a TT monster, then served a 2 year ban and came back claiming to race clean. I believe he is cleaner, because he is now back to his natural TT ability. Christie, Do you have Andy and Cadel's weight?I would think they are very close? So what I am getting at is that if their weight is the same then their Absolute power should be very close if we say their power to weight is then close. Maybe Andy's is a bit better? So what remain is frontal drag and comfort...and that is where Andy can both still make a few changes. More time on the bike……… you know the power does differ in a big way in that position so the guys who spend more time there will be stronger even if their figures are not that good. So what I am getting at is they should be able to get him close, he just needs to make the commitment!!
Spark Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 http://www.cyclingnews.com/blogs/robert-millar/why-evans-beat-the-schleck-brothers Go to this link and read why Andy lost.It's really good
nochain Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 http://www.cyclingnews.com/blogs/robert-millar/why-evans-beat-the-schleck-brothers Go to this link and read why Andy lost.It's really goodGood Articel, To me it all boils down to 3 things. 1. Andy being more fatigued than Cadel due to team and race tactics.....Cadel did not have a Frank; he just had 8 strong riders dedicated to him.2.Andy descends like he's ass!!3. He needs to work a bit on he's TT ability.(he is not that bad but he needs to do a bit of work that’s for sure.)
GLuvsMtb Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 This is probably the only way he will ever win anything, hope Contador is cleared and can go on to set the new records of Tour De France wins. This was Andy's last chance to win, while Contador was recovering from the Giro. Agree with sentiments for Cadel, well deserved win.The guy is 25 Evans is 34. Time trialling is as much a skill as it is natural ability. One would assume that being one of the top cyclists in the world, he would be able to learn to do this. Apart from Roland (who didn't race for 9 days, but babysat Voeckler) taking Alpe D'Huez, there is very little coming up behind Andy and these riders are light years away time wise. I anticipate that Schleck and Contador (now 28) would be competing for honours for the TdF for some years to come. Next year will be a write off for someone like Evans. I expect him to focus on the Olympics. For the sake of the sport, I hope that Contador is cleared, otherwise we'll be watching two team mates (both Schlecks) attacking each other for the Tour victory in the next few years.
gummibear Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 Maybe he wins the Criterium in Luxembourg tonight
Christie Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 I think Andy can win the TDF. He almost did (and perhaps still may) win in 2010. I think it will take more than improving his TT, though. Sure, that is part of it, but imo the main reason he lost out this year was that he seemed almost asleep for most of this TDF. He needs to be in top shape, hungry and focused. Andy reminds me a bit of Ulrich in this - I wonder how badly he wants to win? Getting awarded the 2010 win could even be a bad thing - he may lose inspiration and focus and never win again. Agree 100% about him fussing over Frank. It is great that they have a good bond, but damn it, they can't hold hands all the way to Paris against a set of mean riders going all out to win. In that regard I think starting their own team counted against them - Riis would not have put up with their brotherly tactics. A lot have been written about 2011 already, but I think the Schlecks were below their peak, and whoever decided their racing tactics was also below par. In future, an in-form Contador with a stronger team will make the race more difficult than 2011. As far as TT goes, it is difficult to say how much he can improve. Imo, just like they all have very low body fat, all of the GC contenders in the TDF would have spent a lot of time on their TT bikes. If they have not, they would be pretty dumb and have useless coaches, so I assume they all train TT a lot, and have spent time in the wind tunnel to optimize position for comfort, power output and minimum drag. Once again, a GC contender, his coach and his manager would have to be pretty stupid not to have done that. I'm sure Riis have already chained him to the TT bike for a while in the past. It is hard to guess how much more he can improve. Last year Andy was in very good shape, and also had a good TT. He was about 30s slower than Contador in the final TT - I don't think he would be able to match Contador in a TT unless he builds more muscle mass. It would have heen a good improvement for example if he could have matched time of Contador this year in the TT, the overall result would have been close, but he would still have lost by 2s or so, and Evans claims to have cruised in over the last kms. Improving his TT will help, but I think he should building a strategy around his strengths: climbing, and Frank as a super domestique.
javadude Posted July 29, 2011 Posted July 29, 2011 http://www.cyclingnews.com/blogs/robert-millar/why-evans-beat-the-schleck-brothers Go to this link and read why Andy lost.It's really good Just noticed the author of the article, looks like they eventually found him. http://www.amazon.com/Search-Robert-Millar-Unravelling-Surrounding/dp/0007235011
NotSoBigBen Posted July 29, 2011 Posted July 29, 2011 Got to love this comment about Contador, say what you will about him "The guy has won three Tours, a Giro and a Vuelta, he's not going to be scared by playground antics."
TNT1 Posted February 7, 2012 Posted February 7, 2012 Im not sure Andy will want to have won his first Tour this way. Andy agrees with you. "There is no reason to be happy now”, Schleck said in a RadioShack-Nissan press release“First of all I feel sad for Alberto. I always believed in his innocence. This is just a very sad day for cycling. The only positive news is that there is a verdict after 566 days of uncertainty. We can finally move on.” “I trust that the CAS judges took all things into consideration after reading a 4,000 page file. If now I am declared overall winner of the 2010 Tour de France it will not make me happy. I battled with Contador in that race and I lost. My goal is to win the Tour de France in a sportive way, being the best of all competitors, not in court. If I succeed this year, I will consider it as my first Tour victory.” http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/andy-schleck-reacts-to-contadors-doping-ban
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