Andy Schleck calls it quits

[Md3000]

.. says Luxembourg newspaper L'Essentiel. Trek didn't prolong his contract (they did with brother Fräãæâånk). He will be announcing retirement tomorrow during a press conference.

http://www.lessentiel.lu/fr/sports/sports_luxembourgeois/story/Andy-Schleck-arrete-sa-carriere-professionnelle-10667110

[tumbler]

One of my favorite clips from the 2010 tour... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fio8YDfAoLs

[CunegoFan]

He actually retired three years ago but never officially announced it.

Apparently the good news is the bio passport does work to some degree.

[blood.meridian]

Meh...

[PQJ]

Meh...

This. Amazing how quickly he just disappeared. But at least he "won" a tour.

[Md3000]

Abandy Schleck they call him at Velominati LOL

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

This would be so damn funny and fodder for much ball breaking commentary, if it wasn't so lame. What a waste of talent.

[slidey]

You don't say?! :rolleyes:

And for the next Schleck trick, Frank announces his retirement too.

(conjoined pair of dimwits)

[CunegoFan]

You don't say?! :rolleyes:

And for the next Schleck trick, Frank announces his retirement too.

(conjoined pair of dimwits)

Unlike his brother, Frank has a good work ethic. I think he is more naturally talented than Andy and will be around for a four or five more years.

[FlashUNC]

What is it about Luxembourg and enigmatic climbers?

Always felt for the guy. Clearly talented but through a combination of likely getting off a jetfuel program, injuries and a case of the yips, never could really reach the heights folks thought he could hit.

That attack in the Tour was still one of the crazier things I've seen.

[54ny77]

http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Ricky-Ricardo-Shock-Hands-on-Head-I-Love-Lucy.gif

[Chris]

I've always said he was the Tom Danielson of Luxembourg.

[CunegoFan]

That attack in the Tour was still one of the crazier things I've seen.

He gets way too much credit for that. He did nothing in the Pyranees and was being criticized from all quarters. Going off the front was a face saving move. There was no downside; he had already lost the Tour.

It reminded me of something John Steinbeck once wrote: No one can work harder than a lazy man. The explanation was a lazy man puts off working until it is almost too late then works like heck to get everything done at the last minute.

[redir]

One of my favorite clips from the 2010 tour... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fio8YDfAoLs

Brutal!

[thwart]

brutal!

+100.

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

If he could have had the drive and focus, bridging the gap after his SRAM-Gate incident, most of the season, he would done better, imho.

[earlfoss]

His retiring is a reminder that just because the physiology is there, the mind is more important. If he's a happier person away from professional cycling then more power to him.

I've seen more than a few people over the years with the ability to go far in cycling but walk away for something more fulfilling for themselves. He's done more in cycling before age 30 than many people ever will in their entire career.

On the flipside, there's probably some fat person in your office building with the talent to compete in the pro peloton but will never know it because they're getting drunk and cramming cheese curds down their gob at the bar during the Packer game. It's all about what makes you happy!

[CNY rider]

I don't know how Jens stomached spending his last few years in the peloton changing Frank and Andy's diapers.

What an incredible contrast he was to those two.

[regularguy412]

I don't know how Jens stomached spending his last few years in the peloton changing Frank and Andy's diapers.

What an incredible contrast he was to those two.

He was getting paid to do it. LOL And,,once they were out of contention, he was free to go for stage wins. Which was always more exciting than watching a Schleck anyway.

Mike in AR:beer:

[berserk87]

Maybe my memory is faulty here, but didn't Andy's rapid decline correspond with Frank's doping suspension (and then Andy's broken hip)?

Makes me wonder if he perhaps was doping and then tried to go clean after that point, and was "meh" without the secret sauce.

[PQJ]

Maybe my memory is faulty here, but didn't Andy's rapid decline correspond with Frank's doping suspension (and then Andy's broken hip)?

Makes me wonder if he perhaps was doping and then tried to go clean after that point, and was "meh" without the secret sauce.

"Perhaps"? Andy was 100% juiced and without it he was pack fill.

[dpk501]

I don't know how Jens stomached spending his last few years in the peloton changing Frank and Andy's diapers.

What an incredible contrast he was to those two.

Good old eastern bloc work ethic

[ultraman6970]

The day he admit it, will be the day we will know.

"Perhaps"? Andy was 100% juiced and without it he was pack fill.

[ByronApp]

brutal!

+2

[FlashUNC]

He gets way too much credit for that. He did nothing in the Pyranees and was being criticized from all quarters. Going off the front was a face saving move. There was no downside; he had already lost the Tour.

It reminded me of something John Steinbeck once wrote: No one can work harder than a lazy man. The explanation was a lazy man puts off working until it is almost too late then works like heck to get everything done at the last minute.

I guess where we disagree is that was the most audacious move in the race in a generation, he was the virtual leader on the road for a decent chunk of that, and only Cadel digging deep on the Galibier recovered the day for him.

Andy is this generation's Roberto Visentini, and I think there's something a bit tragic about that given the start to his career. Was he juiced to the gills and mentally soft and the injuries didn't help matters -- totally -- but for a fleeting moment there he was the best climber on the planet.

[teleguy57]

On the flipside, there's probably some fat person in your office building with the talent to compete in the pro peloton but will never know it because they're getting drunk and cramming cheese curds down their gob at the bar during the Packer game. It's all about what makes you happy!

Hey, stop talking about me -- just cuz I live in WI, sheesh..... :p

[saab2000]

Hey, stop talking about me -- just cuz I live in WI, sheesh..... :p

Ha! I thought he was talking about me too!

[CunegoFan]

I guess where we disagree is that was the most audacious move in the race in a generation...

Landis's ride was far far greater.

[earlfoss]

Seeing Cunegofan's username made me think of another boy wonder. Cunego seems to still have the bug. I'm curious to see how the remainder of his career goes.

[Ozrider]

Who cares, there are plenty of deserving riders looking for a place on a team


Parlee Z5, Trek Madone, Colnago Dream,

[Elefantino]

Remember this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzPq0hDdDhs

[ultraman6970]

If we are talking about TdF, I have to agree with this...

If we are talking about Vuelta a España and other races, contador has way more epic rides than AS's. Even Froomey has more epic rides than AS and he has been in the top only the last 3 years, in the last Vuelta Frommey got the respect of the fans (finally) big time.

That's the problem with AS, he was fixated in the darn TOUR and the worse part is that as a cyclist sure he knew what he lacked (not sure about that word) but never did a single thing to fix it, we saw a bunch of Colombians climbers TTing decently next seasons for example and to top the cake he became a cry baby and that basically sealed his faith with many fans.

Dope or not dope, nobody denies his talent, the problem IMO was that he thought that going "Ronin" was going to help him win races watching tv is something nobody probably understand, what screw me is that they took FC down with them. Good news finally Frank figured it out that he needed to let that dead weight at home.



Landis's ride was far far greater.

[berserk87]

Landis's ride was far far greater.

Landis attacking the field and soloing his way back into the TDF was remarkable, doping or not. I think that the peloton was slow-ish to respond because it seemed so insane at the time, they probably thought it was just Floyd's last thrash before his flameout.

I still don't get how he could turn it around like that overnight. Must have had some Superman drugs in the Phonak team bus.

[pbarry]

AS is a diva, without the chops. His best bet going forward is to find a good mechanical design team to develop the best-ever(!) front derailleur, then market it on late night television.

[FlashUNC]

Landis's ride was far far greater.

Which directly led to his ridiculous positive test.

Would certainly be more noteworthy if he didn't immediately test positive the second he did it.

[harlond]

A broken hip is a pretty serious injury.

[Gaucho410]

The only really fond memory I'll ever have of Andy Schleck was the excuse he gave me to be obnoxiously smug to my Sram-riding friends for months after the 2010 tour.

[roguedog]

Like.

Remember this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzPq0hDdDhs

[CunegoFan]

Landis attacking the field and soloing his way back into the TDF was remarkable, doping or not. I think that the peloton was slow-ish to respond because it seemed so insane at the time, they probably thought it was just Floyd's last thrash before his flameout.

I still don't get how he could turn it around like that overnight. Must have had some Superman drugs in the Phonak team bus.

I think it was just like what you wrote: The peloton was slow to respond. By the time it did Landis had a big cushion. Everyone wanted another team to do the work chasing. I also suspect Kloden started the day feeling a bit off so T-Mobile could not push the pace as much as it wanted.

Landis' power output for stage 17 was not an outlier. It is impressive but not something we have not seen before. The terrain suited his attack. It was all climbing up and descending down; Landis was the best climber in the race and he is fantastic descender. Sixty or seventy sticky bottles plus the extra cooling provided by them on a brutally hot day was an advantage none of the chasers had.

I don't think there was any super dope. It was just standard blood transfusions. Landis was doing it basically by himself using Rihs' money and Allen Lim as a courier. T-Mobile's whole team took a side trip into Germany during the race to get topped off by the University of Freiberg's doctors, so it is hard to imagine Landis having an advantage in that department.

[gasman]

Seeing Cunegofan's username made me think of another boy wonder. Cunego seems to still have the bug. I'm curious to see how the remainder of his career goes.

Nowhere I suspect.

[CunegoFan]

Which directly led to his ridiculous positive test.

Would certainly be more noteworthy if he didn't immediately test positive the second he did it.

For testosterone, which was being used by the peloton like candy. The only reason he tested positive is the French lab screwed up the T:TE ratio test, which then triggered the CIR test. Use a CIR test on the rest of the peloton and 80% would have failed. The 80% figure comes from a Swiss research paper that came out in 2007 or 2008 (I forget which).

[saab2000]

Damiano Cunego has actually got quite a few quality wins and placings during his career. Hmmm, how 'bout that....

All the haters need to enter a few races and see what it's like. AS has had a better career than 99.9 of folks who ever line up and hear a starter say "Go", starting with his amateur days.

[CunegoFan]

Nowhere I suspect.

One Giro, three Lombardia's, and a Amstel Gold is not a bad career. He should have won the 2011 Tour de Suisse.

Cunego went off the sauce somewhere between 2006 and 2008--at least the major stuff.

[gasman]

One Giro, three Lombardia's, and a Amstel Gold is not a bad career. He should have won the 2011 Tour de Suisse.

Cunego went off the sauce somewhere between 2006 and 2008--at least the major stuff.

Oh I think he has had a good career and really loved his Giro win. He's done way more than most I just don't think he's going to do much from now on.

[irideslow8401]

All the haters need to enter a few races and see what it's like. AS has had a better career than 99.9 of folks who ever line up and hear a starter say "Go", starting with his amateur days.

This...+1

[slidey]

All the haters need to enter a few races and see what it's like. AS has had a better career than 99.9 of folks who ever line up and hear a starter say "Go", starting with his amateur days.

That's an apples-oranges comparison. 99.9% of folks who line up to hear a starter say "Go" are amateurs, and are not making a career of it. When you say you're a professional racer, its your bloody job to deliver results and the only way to do it is to lay it all on the line (or get juiced). I admire even the Lanterne Rouge's more than I do AS, at least the LR didn't quit.

[professerr]

That's an apples-oranges comparison. 99.9% of folks who line up to hear a starter say "Go" are amateurs, and are not making a career of it. When you say you're a professional racer, its your bloody job to deliver results and the only way to do it is to lay it all on the line (or get juiced). I admire even the Lanterne Rouge's more than I do AS, at least the LR didn't quit.

I think that to get to the level of Andy Schleck, even as talented and doped as he is, took more grit than 99.9 percent of people have. We’re talking about someone who is at the the nth percent of the nth percent at what he does. That doesn’t mean he’s not fair game, as a public sports cartoon, to be ruthlessly mocked. But I always liked him -- I prefer my sports figures with a little less meathead in them.

[saab2000]

That's an apples-oranges comparison. 99.9% of folks who line up to hear a starter say "Go" are amateurs, and are not making a career of it. When you say you're a professional racer, its your bloody job to deliver results and the only way to do it is to lay it all on the line (or get juiced). I admire even the Lanterne Rouge's more than I do AS, at least the LR didn't quit.

As I didn't pay his paychecks I don't really care about his results. It's hard for me to get too worked up about it. As for his 'laying it all on the line', he did win a few races you know.

Twice 2nd at the Tour. Awarded the win another time. 2nd at the Giro. Won Liege-Bastogne-Liege. These are the highlights. He had a number of other respectable results.

Now he's out of the peloton. What's the big deal? Nobody here paid his salary so nobody should be upset. He burned brightly for a short time and then that was it. Hardly the first or the last who will do that.

[slidey]

As I didn't pay his paychecks I don't really care about his results. It's hard for me to get too worked up about it. As for his 'laying it all on the line', he did win a few races you know.

Fair points. There are a plethora of underperforming riders in the peloton anyway, as profeserr referenced.

The things about Andy that really rubs me the wrong way is his constant whining. I'm sensitive to this whining in general, so no surprise I'm glad we've heard the last of him. Unless of course that means that the dope has more time to whine, and aimless half-assed reporters will type whatever he says.

[572cv]

No one likes to hear a well paid athlete apparently 'whine' about his/her lot in life, of course, when a lot of fans would kill to be in those shoes even for a short time. That is universal.
What is also this case is that a young guy (now here is an old guy speaking) has had a series of debilitating injuries and hasn't been able to recover. I don't wish that on anyone. He has in his career, fallen flat, but he has also sparkled. He's not our guy, he's not my guy for sure, but he's been Luxembourg's guy. He's 29 or whatever. I hope he has a complete recovery of his health, has some glasses of fine, Pete endorsed red, matures over five years or so, and maybe comes back to race a few times with a different attitude, a deeper story, and a positive outcome.

[1centaur]

Andypathy (TM) is all about how he raced vs. the ideal, which was amplified by how he talked off the bike. The ideal was defined by many champions over the years. Why do many give Contador a relative pass on doping but excoriate Andy for assumed doping? Because AC goes for it, grits it out, gambles, fights, exceeds expectations, and generally seizes the mantle of leadership responsibility. Andy mostly made tiny probing attacks, checked for his brother, faded back into the pack, rinse and repeat, did not have the discipline to maximize his TT, predicted failure before races, abandoned, and did not meet expectations (including his brother's).

Both are great riders with exceptional palmares. One engenders admiration. Human nature.

[bluesea]

He's retired!

That's *supposed* to mean we don't have him to kick around anymore. In the end his athletic accomplishments and the sad loss of his unfulfilled abilities will be what remains.

[rain dogs]

Why do many give Contador a relative pass on doping but excoriate Andy for assumed doping?

Who does this? I see the vast majority of fans and media shy away from any serious doping associations/questioning with both Andy and Frank (who should be suspended for life at this point with 2 punishable violations). Where are the people hounding Frank after races like they hound others?

Contador on the other hand seems inseparable from his clenbuterol positive.

Hell, who has the 2010 Tour? Not Alberto. Not to mention 2 other GT's he was stripped of.

(Just to be clear, not saying Contador didn't deserve that sanction, but when you compare it to the other whiners who have had titles stripped, it's ridiculous when they complain about how severe was their sanction.)

[pbarry]

[QUOTE=bluesea;1636513]He's retired!

That's *supposed* to mean we don't have him to kick around anymore. In the end his athletic accomplishments and the sad loss of his unfulfilled abilities will be what remains.[/QUOTEl]

Well said, bluesea. :beer: