On Sunday,in Mallorca,the Schleck brothers,Kim Kirchen and Laurent Didier are beginning their 2010 season.Although the Mallorca race can be considered a simple training race,2010 may bing a lot of happiness to Andy Schleck.In this interview,Andy talks about his improvements,his adversaires,his team,his goals and his brotherhood relationship with Frank who,just like Andy,is a big contender for this year Tour.
Mallorca,yesterday,17.30.The team Saxo Bank riders arrive at their hotel after a 200 kms long training session,in which they had to face 2600 meters of gradient (ndr;disniveau,dislivello-how do you translate that in English?)."A true Tour de France stage.The last time I rode my bike in this way was in July 2009",smiles Andy Schleck,who doesn't mind talking with us 3 days before of his seasonal debut.The interview can now begin.
Andy,how do you feel a few days before of the start of your 2010 season?
Actually,I'm not too eager to begin the season because the stages of the Mallorca Challenge are really hard.I remember that when I started my season in France,for example,the beginning was slightly more quiet.Here in Mallorca instead we already know that we'll have to ride a la bloc since the very first moment of the race and we also know that the parcours will be difficult.It is the beginning of the season and there is the usual excitement that goes with it.Training and racing here is a privilege because the weather is always perfect,very different from the one we had in Luxembourg last week...
The next few races will be easier than the Mallorca Challenge...
Yes.After the Mallorca Challenge I will ride La Ruta Del Sol and the Tirreno-Adriatico,races where I'll be able to improve my condition slowly.But,talking again about the Mallorca race, obviously I will simply consider it a training.I'm not going to kill myself in this race.Of course one day I may enter a breakaway and then I may try getting a victory,since winning is always nice. But frankly,we're not here for that.We're here to training and to exploit the nice weather.
During the off-season you trained a lot.How do you feel now?
It is curious but,talking about my shape,perhaps it is a little behind compared to the last few years because this winter I tried to change my way of training.On the other hand,I have more strength now and thanks to that I should be able to keep a good condition during the whole season.For example,here in Mallorca I do exercises for the abdominals,for the glutes and for the legs before of starting training.It's important for me to do these exercises.I know that my shape won't be super in the first part of the season,but I also know that after the first races my condition will get better and that,as a result of this training,my muscles will become stronger.As the days pass,I will have more benefits.This is the goal that I pursued this winter and now we'll see whether my training will bring some good effects during this season.
We are in February and since the end of 2009 season,there hasn't been a week in which the media didn't talk about the Tour de France 2010 and its three main protagonists: Alberto Contador,Lance Armstrong and you...
Yes,that's how things go,although things weren't very different last year.Things have been this way since Lance Armstrong's comeback.The Tour is the Tour,it is the most important race of the world.There is no other race like it and the fact that Lance is going to try winning it again can only stress the attention on it.
You're often considered the possible umpire of the Contador-Armstrong match. What do you think about it?
I think it is logic that people consider me in this way.I finished second in the 2007 Giro;I won the best young rider jersey in the Tour 2008 although I helped Carlos Sastre during the whole race;then,last year I finished second in the Tour de France.I think it is normal that now I want to try winning the Tour.Anyway,the big issue is still the duel between Contador and Armstrong, nowadays' strongest rider and the rider who used to be the strongest in the past.Lance is very,very motivated and talks a lot about the Tour,therefore this makes people think a lot about this duel.As far as I'm concerned,I try to stay back a little and to do my things.I'm doing everything I can to improve and to become stronger.My goal is to win the Tour de France one day,I don't care about the rest.I try not to go too far with the press.We'll see who is the strongest in Paris.In the meantime there are the classics and they a really important goal for me!
Your team has changed a lot during the off-season.What do you think of the 2010 Team Saxo Bank?
The team level is really,really high and I'm not saying this because I have to.The team is younger than last year,but I'm convincted that it is also stronger.Jakob Fuglsang for example has improved a lot.He's the strongest rider of the team in this part of the season,he's really impressive.In the team we understand each other in a great way and this is really important.If I look at the classics,I think we have one of the best teams in the world.If I look at the Tour,I think we have one of the best teams of the world.Our team is the only one that can do well both in the Classics and in the Grand Tours.Just think at that stage of the Tour 2010,the one with cobblestones in it: with guys like Fabian (Cancellara),Stuart (O'Grady) and Jens (Voigt),I have no doubt we'll go through it well.
Saxo-Bank has announced that they'll end their partnership with you at the end of 2010.Does it increase the pressure on the riders?
No,not at all.I remember that when CSC withdrawed,the announcement had been given much later in the season.This time,they've told us about their sponsorship retirement in advance.We riders will do our best in order to have many good results this year.Anyway,it's the team boss who has to find someone interested in sponsoring us and I believe that Bjarne will make it.If possible,it would be better to find a new sponsor as quickly as possible in order to extend the contracts with some of the strongest riders.
With Frank you have experienced important moments in cycling.After the Tour of Lombardy 2007,the Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2008 and 2009 and the Tour de France 2009,what is the next step,the next shot ready in the gun of the Schleck brothers?
It would be nice if we made it to the Tour podium in Paris.This is our main dream.Then of course there are some other dreams about the Ardennes classics.This year I will focus myself on Amstel,whereas Frank will try winning the Liege.We'll see what will happen.Frank seems to feel good for the moment and he may shine also in Paris-Nice.He has changed a lot during this winter and he's as motivated as never before.His whole life has changed.He married Martine and now they're expecting a baby girl.It will be a great season for us.Everybody talks about me,but he's got some good cards to play at the Tour as well.
Can he win the Tour?
Yes,I believe he can win the Tour
It's a big advantage for you to race with him.
Yes it is,it allows us to do a lot of things.Anyway here in Mallorca we aren't roommates because I share my room with Laurent (Didier),a good friend of mine who will start his professional career on Sunday.
Despite your young age,you have created a strong media attention that will probably keep on growing in the future.What do you think about it?
It's a part of this job.In those days,all magazines and lots of tvs have tried meeting me and Frank.It is part of our job and,when I can,I try to do it with pleasure.One day in the future I may be happy to look back and read all the things they wrote about me.Anyway sometimes it's difficult to organise these things because over the years I realized that I must think about recovering from cycling as well.In fact sometimes it is very important to disconnect yourself from the cycling world and keep some moments just for you,in which you don't have to talk or think about cycling.
Four good reasons to believe in Andy:
1 According to all those who shared his training throughout the winter,either in the gym,in the swimming pool,or out in the woods on a Cyclo-cross bike,Andy Schleck is really,really motivated this year.In short,Andy filled well his winter,a season that is the basement of every cycling result.
2 During the training camp in Fuerteventura,Andy Schleck reviewed on video the key stages of the Tour 2009."I realized that,in the mountain stages,you mustn't leave a single inch of advantadge to Contador.Otherwise,you get fucked...»,Andy concluded.In short,the moments spent in front of the tv were useful.
3 His relationship with Frank,his brother and best friend,is unique."He can win the Tour", believes Andy.
4 Andy will be 25 when this year Tour de France begins.Contador won his first Tour when he was 24 years old,but Armstrong and Indurain had to wait until they were 27 before of getting their first Tour victory...
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