"Le Quotidien" article about the Schleck brothers (part 1):

The first post of this year was an interview,therefore I think it's a must to conclude this year with another interview (and with a usual "My hopes for next year!" post).Actually,I've found 2 interviews regarding the Schleck brothers today:the first one is about Andy's triumph in Liége and you can read about it in this post,the second one instead is about Frank's victory in Le Grand Bornard stage of the Tour (see next post to read it).Enjoy!

Link: http://lequotidien.editpress.lu/les-sports/7162.html
The victory of Andy Schleck in Liege-Bastogne-Liege,his first major success in a classic,wasn't a matter of luck.Simply,that day he was the strongest.He triumphed.A first great success to which many other great victories will follow.Inevitably...
Apart from the tears caused by a crazy emotion,it ended as it had begun seven hours earlier. With a laugh.A blink of an eye.A hug.As if their destinies of brothers and cyclists couldn't be divided in any way.
Yes,immediately after leaving the Team Saxo Bank bus stationed in Place Saint-Lambert, Liège, on the 26th of April 2009,Andy and Frank Schleck started to laugh in a great way.After sitting on their bikes in fact they realised that,actually,they were sitted on the wrong vehicles.Andy in fact was speeding to the signing of the start sheet on Frank's bike-and vice versa.

The similarity and the fact of living together are two key elements that the Schleck brothers perfectly handle when they're on and off their bikes.And their ability in handling these 2 elements was often shown on the stage of the Liege-Bastogne-Liège.

In 2007,when Andy rides the Doyenne for the first time,he decides to attack on La Redoute in order to help Frank.All the other riders think that the one who's attacking is Frank and they immediately stop Andy's action.This story has been told many times and always causes the brothers to laugh.
The following year,the scenario was even more striking.For the first time in the Liége's history, the riders had to face the Roche-aux-Faucons,the climb where Andy has built his success this year.But a year earlier,on that climb,Andy attacked together with Frank and this move changed the story of the race.Caught by Valverde's group,Andy tried to escape again,with ten kilometers to go,before of finishing fourth,one placement behind Frank.
After having raced it for 2 times,Andy's was convincted of the fact that Liege-Bastogne-Liege is HIS race.And this opinion,in 2009,was proved to be correct with a great victory.Not even the terrible fall of Frank in the Amstel Gold Race,a week earlier,could change things.

Andy began the Amstel Gold Race with the idea of helping his elder brother,who was in a great condition,but then,after Frank's fall,the youngest of the Schleck brothers decided to help his Dutch teammate Karsten Kroon.When he took that decision,Andy hadn't seen the violent images of his brother's fall yet.Only much later,returning to the hotel,he understood that the Schleck family had risked to live a tragedy that day.
The following days,with Frank at home in Mondorf-les-Bains,since wisdom obviously suggested him not racing in the Fleche Wallonne,Andy was trying to defeat his dark thoughts.And he went fishing,like he and Frank had already planned to do,in the waters of the Meuse,near their hotel in Lanaken,on the border between Belgium and the Netherlands.

The recipe was good,because on Wednesday evening Andy finished second in the Fleche Wallonne won by Davide Rebellin.His mind was made up: if I can arrive 2nd on the Wall of Huy after only 200 kilometers of racing,I will find some way to win the Doyenne between 4 days and after 260 kilometers that are much more selective than the Fleche's ones.

"I feel I can do it,but if I want to win I must attack with at least twenty kilometers to go.I assure you,without being arrogant,that I didn't ride a la bloc when we were facing the Keutenberg climb,last Sunday in the Amstel.But in the Liége,I'll ride at full gas.And then,Cunego and Valverde will have problems",he told me (NDR;the journalist who wrote the article is Denis Bastien) the day before of the Fleche.The following evening,of course,he was even more convincted of his ideas.

Then the Liége arrived,and Andy's great action is still remembered.With twenty kilometers to go,Philippe Gilbert,who had attacked boldly on La Redoute climb,was alone at the head of the race. Suddenly,Andy Schleck looked to the riders at the head of the group and then attacked in a very impressive way.
The Mondorfois,taking advantadge from his ally with Frank,morally and physically recovered,rides at full gas.With his style,a combination of power and sourplesse,he goes,with his hands on the bike's brakes.He was off to his first classic victory.The greatest classic for grimpeurs."The greatest classic of all",as Andy Schleck often says.
As he attacks,nothing and nobody can get in his way,so here comes the first triumph of this gifted young champion.The result and the end of history is an emotion.
Andy's obviously happy of his triumph,a triumph that was predicted already a long time ago.And then,after the race,there is his family.There's Frank who,to be sure that he's not daydreaming,watches Andy's triumph on the great screen overlooking the finish line and watches the images of his brother waving an arm to the grey sky of Liége.There's Johnny,the father,who had awaited for this moment for a long time, while taking care not to add anything to this perfect but stressful moment.And finally there is Gaby,the mother,who the boy gently scolds for bursting into tears after witnessing his huge success.

"In a state of grace ..."
Andy Schleck (winner): "I do not know whether it was an amazing victory,I haven't had the time to review the race yet,but if you ask me,of course I think it was a great success! I don't want to shout it from the rooftops,but I think I've just ridden my perfect race of the year.Now it will be hard to do better than that".

"Frank was even happier than he usually is when he wins a race.I did not cry.When Frank won the Amstel in 2006,I bursted into tears,but Frank did not cry that day.Our emotions go from me to him and vice versa.Today I fighted also for him.After his fall,last Sunday in the Amstel Gold Race,I feared the worst.After watching it on tv,I was shocked for two days.But tonight I am a happy man.I won the race of my dreams and Frank was there with me".
Frank Schleck (23th) "I don't know what to say,it's crazy.Fabulous! I knew that Andy was strong and that the team was working well,but at one point I thought that Andy had gone too far.Anyway the guys behind didn't attack and also Rebellin couldn't escape from the chasing group.Andy has won the most beautiful classic.I won the Amstel in 2006,now it's my turn to win the Doyenne.There is an image that I think that lots of people will remember.After Andy's attack,a TV camera showed me.I was smiling and showed my thumb up.We made a great show. We were in a state of grace,almost carried by our euphoria. "
Bjarne Riis (manager of Team Saxo Bank): "The race was wonderful and everything went as planned.Andy's attack was really impressive.It takes courage to attack like that. "
Johnny Schleck (the proud dad):"It's beautiful,beautiful.It still surprises me,although I've been seeing them making progresses for lots of years.Living these moments for me is unimaginable but true. "

Philippe Gilbert (4th): "We unfortunately ran into a super Andy Schleck today.There was nothing to do against him.Since the beginning of the race,we felt that the Saxo Bank was going to decide the race,so I wanted to anticipate a possible attack from the Schlecks.But when Andy caught me,I could not follow him.He dropped me without any problem".

Andy's success in numbers
1: Liege-Bastogne-Liege.Andy Schleck won it on the 27th of April 2009.In 2007 he finished second in the Giro.Then in July 2009 he also came in 2nd in the Tour de France.

2: Andy Schleck was the second Luxembourgish after Marcel Ernzer (winner in 1954) to win Liége.
3: Before of Andy's triumph,the Schleck family already had the honor of getting on the Liége podium twice,since Frank was third in the race both in 2007 and 2008.
4 : In the Top 30 of the 2009 Liege-Bastogne-Liege there were four Saxo Bank riders: Kolobnev (9th),Frank Schleck (23) and Nicki Sorense (26th).
10 years: Since Frank Vandenbroucke's success in 1999,no one had managed to achieve a solo victory in Liege-Bastogne-Liege.At the time "VDB" planned his attack,just like Andy did this April.
19 : The kms that Andy Schleck had to face alone before of reaching the finish-line in Ans.
23: Andy Schleck was 23 last April,therefore he's one of the youngest winners of the Doyenne.
77 : The seconds that eventually separated Andy from the second rider to cross the finish line,Joaquim Rodriguez.
84: The number of the SMS of congratulations that Andy Schleck received the evening of the Liége.