Ok, Andy Schleck rode a phenomenal Tour this year, and it was in fact so good that it left many people scratching their heads as to just how he came up short of yellow in Paris. It is very easy to lay the blame on the stage 15 chain incident, especially because Contador won by the exact same number of seconds he gained on that day, but instead I will offer you 3 more reasons (none in Schleck's control) as to why he came up short.1. Contador
Lets' face it, whether or not you think that Contador won the Tour or Schleck lost it, there is no denying the great performance Contador put in over the 3 weeks. The only significant time he lost was on the cobbles, but after that he had Schleck marked on every move for the rest of the Tour. He still proved himself to be the world's top rider, and Schleck will certainly need to keep his game up if he hopes to beat him.2. No Team Time Trial
Though Contador is the better time trialist, the tables would certainly have turned had the Tour included a team time trial stage. Schleck's Saxo Bank team is dominant on the flat stages, and features, among other great riders, the world time trial champion in Fabian Cancellara. Cancellara, along with young TT rider Fuglsang and other riders like Stuart O'Grady, would be essential to keeping the pace high and should have at least put about a minute on Contador and his Astana squad (more built for the mountains).
Though Contador is the better time trialist, the tables would certainly have turned had the Tour included a team time trial stage. Schleck's Saxo Bank team is dominant on the flat stages, and features, among other great riders, the world time trial champion in Fabian Cancellara. Cancellara, along with young TT rider Fuglsang and other riders like Stuart O'Grady, would be essential to keeping the pace high and should have at least put about a minute on Contador and his Astana squad (more built for the mountains). 3. Early loss of Brother Frank
Perhaps the most devastating loss for Andy Schleck throughout the entire Tour happened before the action really started. Andy's brother, and main ally in mountain stages, Frank had an unfortunate crash on the cobblestones and was forced to withdraw from the Tour. Frank would have been an invaluable asset to Andy in the mountains, as the two could have "tag-teamed" Contador and others in the higher mountain stages.
Perhaps the most devastating loss for Andy Schleck throughout the entire Tour happened before the action really started. Andy's brother, and main ally in mountain stages, Frank had an unfortunate crash on the cobblestones and was forced to withdraw from the Tour. Frank would have been an invaluable asset to Andy in the mountains, as the two could have "tag-teamed" Contador and others in the higher mountain stages.
Frank's crash did allow Andy to put time on Alberto however, since Alberto was caught behind Frank's crash pile-up. Andy started the day 31 seconds behind Alberto and wound up being 42 seconds ahead of him at the end of the day.
ReplyDeletewhile that is true, Frank would have been a much needed ally for Andy and would have certainly aided him in gaining back a huge chunk of the time lost with the chain slip. Frank also would be an ideal man to set up Andy's attack on Tourmalet
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