The day had been stormy,exhausting.It ended in triumph for the Schleck brothers that,as no one ever did before,went to the post race press conference together,in order to express their emotions.
"Without him, I would not be here...". Andy Schleck whispered this sentence to explain why his brother Frank had to win the queen stage of the Tour and the addresser of these words,pronounced on Wednesday,July 22,2009,was Nicolas Sarkozy.
The French president had been moving around for the whole day on that occasion,welcoming lots of people and moving from a place to another,but couldn't steal the spotlight from the two Schleck brothers,heroes of the day.So he went near to Johnny Schleck,the happy father of the two phenomena,and couldn't hide how the Tour had always marked his imagination when he was a child.
Just like his father,with the same grey eyes,Steve Schleck lived the final steps of the Grand Bornard stage with his eyes focused on the big screen in the finish area.
The French president had been moving around for the whole day on that occasion,welcoming lots of people and moving from a place to another,but couldn't steal the spotlight from the two Schleck brothers,heroes of the day.So he went near to Johnny Schleck,the happy father of the two phenomena,and couldn't hide how the Tour had always marked his imagination when he was a child.
Just like his father,with the same grey eyes,Steve Schleck lived the final steps of the Grand Bornard stage with his eyes focused on the big screen in the finish area.
"At one point,my father stopped speaking to me in Luxembourgish.He asked me few questions in French.I looked at him and I realized how much he was shocked",he revealed us (NDR;the journalist is always Denis Bastien) a few days later when the Tour took the direction of the Mount Ventoux.
For the Schleck family,the Grand Bornard one was a great day,indeed,although they've started getting used to these strong emotions since the Amstel Gold Race 2006. The dream of Johnny Schleck was becoming true in a way that no one,nor he nor anyone else,could have predicted.
For the Schleck family,the Grand Bornard one was a great day,indeed,although they've started getting used to these strong emotions since the Amstel Gold Race 2006. The dream of Johnny Schleck was becoming true in a way that no one,nor he nor anyone else,could have predicted.
"My dream is to see them both fighting for the victory of a Grand Tour or of a big mountain stage",the former helper of Luis Ocana has often said in recent years.
A dream that,before of this July,had already become true on the day of the 2008 Liege-Bastogne-Liege which ended with Frank's 3rd placement and Andy's 4th one.And the dream continued during the 2008 Tour de France.On that occasion there were Frank's yellow jersey to defend and Andy's white one to to take to Paris.And then there was the triumph of Andy in the 2009 Liége.A triumph,as we know,marked by the same family spirit,with Frank controlling the adversaires and Andy speeding to his first major success in a classic.
A dream that,before of this July,had already become true on the day of the 2008 Liege-Bastogne-Liege which ended with Frank's 3rd placement and Andy's 4th one.And the dream continued during the 2008 Tour de France.On that occasion there were Frank's yellow jersey to defend and Andy's white one to to take to Paris.And then there was the triumph of Andy in the 2009 Liége.A triumph,as we know,marked by the same family spirit,with Frank controlling the adversaires and Andy speeding to his first major success in a classic.
But here,this time we were in July.The 2009 Tour de France had struggled to take off and everyone was focused on the fratricide war between Contador and Armstrong.Both men wore the same jersey and rode for the same team,Astana.But they were clearly fighting against one another.Soon there was a fracture between them and after leaving the Pyrenees, it seemed that no one could disturb their personal battle.First: Contador.Second: Armstrong.
"Do not worry,you'll see us attacking in the Grand-Bornand stage",the Schleck brothers kept on prosiming.Since the start of the Tour and even before,the two brothers had refused the idea of waiting until the day of the Mont Ventoux to make a big attack with their team."Yes,but when will you attack then?" They were asked everyday,before and after the stages,while the days slowly passed...
"The Col du Romme will be terrible,you'll see...»,they used to answer with a look of exasperation on their faces. It was actually there,on the Col du Romme,that the two brothers went into action,the day after the terrible fall of their friend and teammate Jens Voigt.
Johnny Schleck was surprised.Under his eyes,he had the scenario he had often hoped to see in his dreams.His sons were attacking and only Contador could hold on to them,waiting for the storm to pass.
The kms passed. The gap between the 3 men at the front of the race and the adversaires was becoming bigger and bigger.Armstrong and Wiggins were being sent away from the podium on which Andy and Frank Schleck where gradually climbing.After the Col du Colombiére,there was only the Grand Bornard descent to face.
"At the top of the Col de la Colombiere,I said to Frank:'You know that we're going to win?' I told him I was going to go first in the descent.After all,I can ride better downhill than he can.I told him: "I go first on the descent and you,you win the stage"",Andy Schleck explained later during an unforgettable press conference.On that occasion in fact,for the first time in the Tour history, two riders arrived together to the press conference dedicated to the stage winner.
That evening the two brothers explained they wanted to arrive second and third in Paris,but the TT of the following day allowed Lance Armstrong to unseat Frank,who got back into the fifth position.
But the Schleck brothers still have the freshness and the family happiness that they showed to the whole world on the 22/7/09.They promised to come back in 2010,for new deeds that will cause their supporters and familiars to cry in front of the screens once again.
Andy Schleck:"Everything worked as planned"
For me it was be the best moment of this year Tour de France.What we did that day was a great family thing.Personally,I had another great moment on the top of the Mont Ventoux,from where I could see the whole France.
Regarding the Grand Bornand stage I especially remember the fall of Jens Voigt on the previous day. In the morning meeting before of the Grand Bornand stage,it was clear that we had to do the best race possible for Jens.And then there was this need to do something to ensure us a place on the podium.
Finally, everything went as we wanted.We wanted to leave Lance Armstrong,Bradley Wiggins and Andreas Klöden behind,and they arrived over two minutes after us.Our mission was successful.What we did is a source of great joy.I was incredibly proud of my family,our parents, our big brother.It was really something wonderful. "
Frank Schleck: "We made history"
Every time I look back on the Grand Bornard stage,I remember that in that stage there were just three riders ahead.The yellow jersey Alberto Contador, and the two Schleck brothers.It is a great memory and not just because I won that stage.I just lived a great moment with Andy.I never compare victories,because I think it's always great to win important races,but that day was really great from the emotional point of view.
The previous day,after the finish of the stage when Jens (Voigt) had fallen,a German journalist told me about Jens' crash while I was getting on the bus.After walking on the bus steps,I collapsed.I cried a lot.I was tired and I thought about Jens,his family,his five children.I asked myself a lot of questions about the dangers in our sport.
That evening I talked with Andy for an hour.And the next day he wanted us to attack together for Jens and because we had to try and change the history of this Tour de France.We knew that that stage was one of the cards that we had to play if we wanted to get on the Paris podium.After the Grand-Bornand stage,we were 2nd and 3rd in the GC.The next day,everyone in the peloton welcomed us and I remember that many riders told me:"You'll surely arrive on the podium in Paris,both of you ..." Finally I finished fifth, but we must accept that".
But the Schleck brothers still have the freshness and the family happiness that they showed to the whole world on the 22/7/09.They promised to come back in 2010,for new deeds that will cause their supporters and familiars to cry in front of the screens once again.
Andy Schleck:"Everything worked as planned"
For me it was be the best moment of this year Tour de France.What we did that day was a great family thing.Personally,I had another great moment on the top of the Mont Ventoux,from where I could see the whole France.
Regarding the Grand Bornand stage I especially remember the fall of Jens Voigt on the previous day. In the morning meeting before of the Grand Bornand stage,it was clear that we had to do the best race possible for Jens.And then there was this need to do something to ensure us a place on the podium.
Finally, everything went as we wanted.We wanted to leave Lance Armstrong,Bradley Wiggins and Andreas Klöden behind,and they arrived over two minutes after us.Our mission was successful.What we did is a source of great joy.I was incredibly proud of my family,our parents, our big brother.It was really something wonderful. "
Frank Schleck: "We made history"
Every time I look back on the Grand Bornard stage,I remember that in that stage there were just three riders ahead.The yellow jersey Alberto Contador, and the two Schleck brothers.It is a great memory and not just because I won that stage.I just lived a great moment with Andy.I never compare victories,because I think it's always great to win important races,but that day was really great from the emotional point of view.
The previous day,after the finish of the stage when Jens (Voigt) had fallen,a German journalist told me about Jens' crash while I was getting on the bus.After walking on the bus steps,I collapsed.I cried a lot.I was tired and I thought about Jens,his family,his five children.I asked myself a lot of questions about the dangers in our sport.
That evening I talked with Andy for an hour.And the next day he wanted us to attack together for Jens and because we had to try and change the history of this Tour de France.We knew that that stage was one of the cards that we had to play if we wanted to get on the Paris podium.After the Grand-Bornand stage,we were 2nd and 3rd in the GC.The next day,everyone in the peloton welcomed us and I remember that many riders told me:"You'll surely arrive on the podium in Paris,both of you ..." Finally I finished fifth, but we must accept that".
Writing history:
In the young and already long story that the new generation of cyclists has written,bringing the Luxembourgish cycling back to its former glory,there are some moments that we always like recalling. The great work that Benoit Joachim did for Lance Armstrong.The many successes of Kim Kirchen,just like his victory in the 2008 Flèche Wallonne before of getting the yellow and the green jerseys in the 2008 Tour de France.He then passed the maillout jaune to Frank Schleck,who then gave it to his teammate Carlos Sastre,and that was the price of a hard but winning team strategy.
In the young and already long story that the new generation of cyclists has written,bringing the Luxembourgish cycling back to its former glory,there are some moments that we always like recalling. The great work that Benoit Joachim did for Lance Armstrong.The many successes of Kim Kirchen,just like his victory in the 2008 Flèche Wallonne before of getting the yellow and the green jerseys in the 2008 Tour de France.He then passed the maillout jaune to Frank Schleck,who then gave it to his teammate Carlos Sastre,and that was the price of a hard but winning team strategy.
By winning the Amstel Gold Race and the famous stage of Alpe-d'Huez in 2006, the elder of the Schleck brothers was the first rider to awaken the passion that Luxembourg has for its cyclists. A passion that increased over the last Tour de France with Andy's 2nd place on the Paris podium.Second in the 2007 Giro and winner of the 2009 edition of the legendary classic Liege-Bastogne-Liege,the white jersey in the 2008 Tour was soon considered as a minor achievement of this young boy.
But for its very strong symbolic meaning,the attack of the two brothers on the 17th stage of Tour 2009,from Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Le Grand Bornand,has caught the imagination of many people.
But for its very strong symbolic meaning,the attack of the two brothers on the 17th stage of Tour 2009,from Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Le Grand Bornand,has caught the imagination of many people.
Who,between those who follow the Tour de France,has never heard about the Schleck brothers? Not just because they were the only ones that challenged Alberto.Cycling had already seen 2 or even 3 brothers racing together in its history.But two brothers struggling to stand on the Paris podium together,that was a unique moment,and in cycling now there is a big passion for the Schleck history.
Thi year edition of the race has already made them become 2 of the main characters of next year Tour de France. But before of rushing to 2010,we must remember what happened on July 22, 2009. A moment of eternity for an entire country.A moment of eternity for two brothers who,long ago in their youth as in their common trainings,have dreamed to succeed in it.
A strong attack on the great Alpine peaks.A beautiful stage finish where two best friends-and brothers-raised their arms together to the sky.That evening,the two Schleck brothers tasted the Paris podium.Only one will remain there three days later."But who cares about that",Frank Schleck said some days after the finish of the race,"we've written the history of the Tour..."
Thi year edition of the race has already made them become 2 of the main characters of next year Tour de France. But before of rushing to 2010,we must remember what happened on July 22, 2009. A moment of eternity for an entire country.A moment of eternity for two brothers who,long ago in their youth as in their common trainings,have dreamed to succeed in it.
A strong attack on the great Alpine peaks.A beautiful stage finish where two best friends-and brothers-raised their arms together to the sky.That evening,the two Schleck brothers tasted the Paris podium.Only one will remain there three days later."But who cares about that",Frank Schleck said some days after the finish of the race,"we've written the history of the Tour..."
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