Second news du jour, Andy Schleck won't take part in the Tour. I've just told my dad about it and he stared at me for about 30 seconds, before he finally realised what I was saying and started asking me questions about where/when/how and why Baby Schleck won't be taking part in the French race. Poor Andy broke his pelvis during his Dauphine crash and won't be able to race for the next 4/6 weeks. The Luxembourgian gave the news during a press conference and, of course, he looked very sad during it. Poor, poor boy.
On the one hand, I must admit that this news shocked me. The Tour means the world to Andy and losing it must be a true bummer for him. Moreover, a broken pelvis is probably one of the most painful things out there. On the other hand, Logic hopes that this injury will teach our boy that, if you focus on just one race pro year, then you could lose the goal of a whole season just because of a stupid crash.
Luckily our boy was sad, but managed to speak about the future anyway (and this is a good sign). Right now Andy's schedule now includes the Olympic Games (although the parcours doesn't fit him, I hope he'll take part in them because they're an amazing experience for an athlete), la Vuelta (where he'll meet Contador) and, hopefully, the Worlds and Lombardy. The first part of the season was a disaster? I think Andy is clever and strong enough to get good results in the next races and make everyone forget about the last few months. Of course, however, first of all he has to recover mentally and physically. In order to help him, I'd like to tell him one thing: everyone stumbles sooner or later, but just champions can make masterpieces out of bad times. This is definitely a bad moment in Andy's career, but I'm sure that, with the support of his family and of those who've always believed (and still believe) in him, he can get over this horrible moment and become even stronger. After all, as he said, 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'. Have a fast recovery Andy!!
Oh, I remember linking an article here last year, about how Ryder met his wife. I happen to think it's a charming story:
RispondiEliminahttp://www.stltoday.com/sports/other/article_89f905c4-5c43-5e01-b671-8011bf7f358d.html
Good luck on your Russian exam Fede! I can't type in Cyrillic, so hopefully this will make sense: ooh-dáh-chee ? I hope I didn't just wish your goats to prosper :P
Ooooh now I remember that article! It was so sweet! <3 Ryder seems a very lovely boy, I can understand all the fangirl-interest going on around him ;)
Elimina(Apropos, it was a shame that he had to retire from the TDF this morning!! Grrr, stupid mass-crashes!)
Ahah, you're so fun Figgy! You didn't wish my goats to prosper, you wished me good luck in a very nice way, dear! :)
Actually, my Russian exam was a big success :P I got the highest mark in it and all my teachers (plus a second-year professor) all flattered me with lots of compliments. I'm not used to teachers who openly flatter their students, so that was a very strange experience!
Maybe it's even an 'necessary' step to improve. Who can tell.....
RispondiEliminaTdF this year will be a strange one with the best 2 riders missing from the start. It looks like now that only at the Worlds in Valkenburg all the AAA riders will be present. It's time I book a hotel in the neighbourhood :)
Barbara.
I think this year's Tour has the potential to be a lot of fun. While I feel sorry for Andy Schleck and Contador, I think their absence opens up the race for the GC--not knowing who will be standing on the podium on the Champs Élysées, is exciting. I'm looking forward to what teams like BMC, Garmin, and Sky will do, tactics-wise, or even dark horses like Europcar, who had two top ten finishes last year in Voeckler and Rolland.
EliminaIf the Tour is even half as exciting as this year's Giro, we're in for a dramatic three weeks!
@ Barbara: I agree with you about Andy's injury being a necessary step to improve. He's not the youngest guy out there anymore and I hope this problem will help him focus on other races as well as the Tour. Otherwise, I'm afraidthat in a few years time he may end up being considered a talented rider who never found the right path in the professional sport.
EliminaThis Tour will be a strange race, no doubts about that. Imo it will be strange not only for the lack of Contador and Schleck, but also because of the parcours: 100 kms of TTs, a crime against climbers!
Ahah, I really do suggest you booking a nice hotel near Valkenburg because this year the Worlds will be very exciting. Contador, Sagan, Gilbert, los Schlecks, Valvderde, Rodriguez, they'll all be there trying to win the rainbow jersey. It'll be a great show! :)
@ Susan: I agree with you. Although this is a strange Tour, there isn't just one clear favourite and this means that we'll have a lot of fun in the next weeks. On paper Wiggins and Evans seem to be the strongest guys, but guys like Froome and Nibali are in a great shape too. Moreover, don't forget Menchov: he's not the best climber and he's not the best time trialist, but the Russian's got a lot of experience and can be a serious threat to the GC.
I'm expecting a lot from Rolland and also from the Pinot, they're both exceptional young riders! BMC and Sky seem the strongest teams so far, whereas poor Garmin lost Danielson and Hesjedal because of yesterday's crash. Still, Dan Martin is a very good climber and Vandevelde and Zabriskie are excellent all rounders, so I think they'll do something good in this year race - and hopefully, Tyler Farrar will manage to go back to his old self soon!!
Funny you mention Denis Menchov, I thought of you when I saw his name sitting in fifth position overall. I think people forget that he's won the Vuelta, twice, and the Giro once! He really is the silent assassin :P
EliminaI am gutted for Ryder, but hope he recovers for the Olympics.
The highest mark in your Russian class--not even remotely surprised by this result (you could teach courses here Fede!)but so proud of you <3 Professors like clever students; they're only grumpy when they sense stupidity! So you can imagine why the instructors here are so irritable :P
Ahah, Menchov surely deserves his 'silent assassin' nickname! When people notice him in the GC, it's usually too late to take a podium spot away from him :P
EliminaI also hope that Ryder will be able to recover for the Olympics. We mustn't forget that, after all, taking part in the Olympic games is probably the greatest experience an athlete can live!
The highest mark in my Russian class, yes - depressing, isn't it? (just joking ;)) Seriously, I couldn't see all those flattering comments coming, especially because my teachers seemed to ignore me during the whole year! Still, I was very happy about them :P
That exam was actually a bit like the Metz carnage at the Tour, just 11 students (and 3 of them are Russian) out of 36 survived it! After passing it I felt in a 'I'm invincible, nothing can stop me now!' mood :P
Ahah, don't worry, my teachers can become very grumpy too when they sense stupidity or lack of hard work - sometimes they can become true monsters!
Ah Fede! Your boy Sagan is lighting up the Tour fantastically and it's only four days into it!
RispondiEliminaBris. Gal
Hi Brisbane Gal! How are you? :)
EliminaYes, my boy's really giving a good show :) He was very angry after losing the prologue, but then his mood definitely improved after all those victories! Peter is a great rider and in the last few days he's also tried to show that he's a funny guy too. I just loved the way he rejoiced while crossing the finish-line after his second victory and he's said that from now he'll have a new way to rejoice every time he wins a race. Can't wait for hsi next victory! ;)
Peter Sagan!
EliminaMemorable first words to the American TV audience, after his first stage win at the Amgen Tour of California:
"Hello to all the beautiful ladies."
LOL
LOOOOOL I didn't know about that! Ahah, I think I'm falling in love with that boy <3
Elimina