Random Post with Random Links:

The Giro d'Italia begins next week and obviously Fangirl is really looking forward to it because, as a famous Italian journalist once said,during the Giro 'everyday is a holiday' (in Italian the sentence sounds a bit different,but that's the meaning).
Hoping that this year Giro won't end up like last year (read: 'hoping there won't be any doping cases'), here I go with some random links about Team Saxo Bank's riders that are racing in the Giro and also with some little useless comments of mine about Tour of Romandie.Enjoy!

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/saxo-bank-cofidis-for-the-giro-ditalia : first of all,the Saxo Bank line up for the Giro.Lots of people have been very surprised by Riis' Giro team ("Where are the Schlecks? Where is Cancellara? Where are Fuglsang and Breschel?!? And Voigt and O'Grady?") and I can understand them completely. The trouble is that,as Frank Schleck once admitted in an interview, the team sponsor (Saxo Bank now,but also Csc in the past) doesn't care at all about the Giro, so Italian tifosi can't do nothing but complain about the lack of big stars in Saxo Bank's Giro line-up. As well as that, the Giro isn't as famous as the Tour (although the hardest mountains are here in Italy) and this year Riis desperately needs his team to get good results during the Tour, and not during the Giro, if he wants to continue his adventure in Cycledom for some other years.

When the Giro parcours was first announced in November (was it November? Oh,who cares!), both Fangirl and Logic had one big hope: seeing one of the Schleck brothers, possibly Frank, in Italy in May. "Why Frank and not Andy?",someone asks. The answer is simple: this year the Giro features lots of hard climbs and a few time trials so,in my opinion, it could have been possibe for Frank to win.As well as that, Italian journalists never pay a lot of attention to him,so he could have ridden without a big pressure. Then, after getting a good result in the Giro, Frank could have gone to the Tour as a 'super helper' for Andy and he could have tried to get a good GC result also there. Obviously I know that this is just imaginary cycling and that there are lots of factors that influenced the season schedule of the brothers, but me would have loved to see one of the Schleck brothers come back to the Giro this year. Well,it will be for another time.
Anyway,back to SB line up for the 2010 Giro, here it is: Larsson, Cooke, Lucas Haedo, Chris Anker Sorensen, Nicki Sorensen, Michael Morkov, Laurent Didier, Richie Porte, Anders Lund. When I told some people I know that the Saxo Bank's captain for 2010 Giro would have been Chris Anker Sorensen, they looked at me in a very surprised way. "Who?",they asked. "Chris Sorensen",I answered. "The one that won a stage during last year Tour?","No,that was Nicki Sorensen". "And who's this Chris Anker,then?" . Anyway the most irritating fact featuring me talking about SB's Giro line-up with other people involved a little boy that goes to my school. When I told him that Saxo Bank wasn't going to bring the Schleck brothers and Cancellara to the Giro, he started to make fun of Saxo Bank. And until that point I managed to stay calm. Everyone's free to make fun of everything/everyone,right? And then I couldn't be rude to him because his mother was there as well while we were talking. But then,at a certain point,the little boy dared to say that "Saxo Bank totally sucks.They have Cancellara and they never manage to win team time trials during Grand Tours. Well, that's obvious when you have a team in which together with Cancellara you have guys like the Schlecks or Larsson, which can't ride time trials at all". Now, I think that the stupidity of this sentence doesn't even need any comment because by commenting it I would just waste my time. Simply, I remember you that Larsson was second in the TT at the Olympic Games in Beijing and at the 2009 Mendrisio Worlds.

Anyway,back to the line-up. As said, the team captain should be Chris Sorensen. I say 'should' because you all know that he broke his collarbone in March and he hasn't ridden any race since then,so I don't know how his condition is right now. Anyway also Gustav Larsson could get some interesting results, especially during the time trials. Nicki Sorensen is a very strong rider as well and he isn't that bad as a climber. Cooke and Lucas Haedo (who has never ridden a Grand Tour so far) are both good sprinters, but in Italy they'll have to compete against guys like Greipel, Petacchi and Freire. Anyway they can always enter a breakaway and get a good result,right? Morkov is a rider who comes from the track (where he got excellent results together with Alex Rasmussen), whereas Lund is an all-rounder. Porte and Didier are two neo-pros that will surely show something good. Porte got a great victory the other day in Tour of Romandie, while Didier was really good during the Ardenne's classics and has showed that he can climb very well. Therefore,although the team hasn't got any famous name in its line-up, I believe that they will ride a good Giro.Actually,the fact that some riders are completely unexperienced could be good, since they will surely have the will to demonstrate their skills. Anyway don't worry, I'll probably come back talking about the team's line-up for the Giro in the next days (if my maths teacher allows it...).

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/64th-tour-de-romandie-upt/stage-3-itt/results : this is a link about Richie Porte's incredible first win,which Richie got in front of guys like Valverde, Menchov and Rogers.If you want to know more about Richie,here's the link to one of my uforgettable posts about Saxo Bank's neo pros: http://fede-myblog92.blogspot.com/2010/02/random-post-about-richie-porte.html

Tour of Romandie: I know I haven't talked at all about Tour of Romandie over the last days and I apologise for that. Actually, I have to admit that I missed almost all the stages of that race because I didn't know it was broadcasted (anyway I fear that I would have been too busy to watch it even if I had known that it was broadcasted). That was obviously a big shame, since the race saw guys that I really do like (Pinotti, Sagan, Porte and Spilak) get some good victories. In addition, Jaroslaw Marycz attacked in the last kms of the stage eventually won by Cavendish and showed once again that he's a really talented rider.As well as that, Menchov showed he's in a good form and this made Logic really happy. Yes,Logic and not Fangirl. In fact Logic surprisingly approves me supporting Menchov because he seems a very clever man and also because he suffers from spring allergies just like moi
By the way,talking more seriously about the race,I have some small things to point out.
1. Richie Porte rode incredibly well this afternoon.
2.Professor Pinotti is in great form.
3.Sagan and Spilak are both very impressive riders.
4.If Basso rides this way also at the Giro (today he crossed the finish-line 9 minutes after Valverde), Liquigas would better give the captain title to Pellizotti or to Sylvester Szmyd.
5. yes, Menchov's smile in the photo below is worrying.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bellis-to-return-to-racing-at-uk-nationals :a very nice news for cycling supporters: Bellis may come back racing this summer at the UK National Championships. Obviously me wishes him all the best for his comeback.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/cyclings-best-worst-and-strangest-victory-salutes : this is a funny Cyclingnews feature regarding the 'worst,best and strangest victory salutes'. Cyclingnews did a very good work, but me is able to add one more strange salute to that list. In fact,how could someone forget Chris Sorensen's 'fisherman' salute? (vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrjO0CPNhJM ).

http://eavis.jp.dk/index.php?alias=DK-JPTO&s=8434&p=217601 :still talking about Chris Anker: here's a great interview that A Beautiful Freak (http://mahoela.blogspot.com/ ) pointed out to me the other day (thank you once again!) .In it Chris talks about his interests aside cycling. And,between those interests,there are also reading historical books,watching football matches and cooking (this last interest particularly shocked me especially because he knows how to prepare a risotto while me can't hardly prepare a coffee).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t1rvhspX7E : if you're a Schleck supporter and you've been so kind to read all this post,here's a little link that you might like since it features Andy before and after Liége (attention: for a brief moment, also Vinokourov appears in this vid).

(pic by AFP)

Marketing Rumours about the Schleck Brothers (plus few random links):

"My first race today and I'm happy did good work 'til I pull out after 160, but my knee didn't hurt only in the end a bit so that's good!!!!! ".Yes,this is what Andy Schleck wrote on his Twitter 2 almost 2 days ago.
Considering that Andy's happy,I think all his supporters should feel more optmistic about his form.After all,if my memory doesn't fail me,also last year he had some problems with his knee (he even had to abandon Tirreno because of this) but then he managed to get over them in a great way,therefore I'm confident that Andy will be able to get good results in the April Classics,aka his first goal of the season.
Anyway,the main reason I'm writing this post is a rumour that appeared on today's La Gazzetta dello Sport.In fact,according to the newspaper,the Schleck brothers are going to create their own team next year.It seems that the team manager of this "Schleck-team" would be Marc Biver,whereas the first ds could be Kim Andersen and the first "marketing goal" would be a certain Fabian Cancellara.The newspaper then points out the fact that Bivier,58 year-old, Luxembourgian,was the man who after Operacion Puerto (2006) transformed Liberty Seguros into Astana-and we all know how it ended up with Astana in 2007 (for those of you who have forgotten the 2007 Tour de France,I write here 4 names: Kessler, Mazzoleni, Vinokourov, Kasheckin. What do they suggest you?).

Of course the journalist who wrote the article also pointed out Kim Andersen's past.In fact Kim was the first Danish rider to wear the yellow jersey at the Tour de France in 1983,but then he resulted positive to an antidoping test and therefore he got 1 year suspension.He soon started riding again,but in 1992 he resulted positive once again and this put an end to his career.
Talking about Cancellara,Fabian's contract with Riis ends in 2011,so he won't probably become a "Schleck rider" in 2011 (of course it isn't known whether the Schleckteam will become reality next year).
If the Schlecks abandoned Riis then Team Saxo Bank (or whatever its name will be next year) might be able to sign a contract with a certain rider named Alberto Contador.In fact Contador's contract with Astana ends in 2010,but his contract with Specialized expires at the end of 2011.In order to mantain a contract with the best Grand Tour rider of the world,Specialized could pay 7 million dollars (!) in order to allow Riis to sign a contract with the Spaniard.

Now,I know that all the things that I've written above (and that I've translated from La Gazzetta website) are fantaciclismo (unrealistic cycling),but I think that the Schleck supporters out there who don't understand Italian could be glad to read about this rumour.Why do I call it "rumour",and not "news"? Well,firstly I know that we Italian sometimes go too far with our fantasy.Secondly,I don't believe to what the Gazzetta wrote.Not that I believe they have made up everything,mind you.Simply,in my opinion,a "Schleckteam" may be created just in case Bjarne Riis doesn't find any new sponsor for 2011. Otherwise,I think that the Schlecks will stay with Uncle Bjarne also next year,since they always say they owe a lot to him.In fact I think that Andy and Frank would never leave Bjarne and try to steal him Andersen and Cancellara (not if they aren't forced to,at least) because they seem very honest guys to me (that's why I support them),and honest guys don't do this kind of things.
Of course,in the awful event that Bjarne doesn't find a new sponsor before of the end of the year,the Schlecks will have to change team and I believe that just in that case they may decide to create a "personal" team.After all,the brothers are really popular (at least in Luxembourg), and a Schleckteam would be sure to get a lot of attention from the medias and money from the sponsors very soon.And considering that also the other Saxo Bank riders/mechanics/ managers/ and so on will need a new team,some of them may even decide to follow the brothers at their new team.

Anyway,I realise that we are in March and we can't make prediction about marketing yet,so here I stop.Apropos: did you remember when I wrote that Italian people sometimes go too far with their fantasy? Well,now you've probably understood what I meant when I wrote that... ;)

SAXO BANK LINKS:
http://blog.tv2.dk/chris.anker.ol/ :Chris Sorensen has updated his blog and he seems to have good expectations for the Paris-Nice.Allez Chris!

http://www.riis-cycling.com/ny_news.asp?n_id=2690 :Johnny Bellis has finally been released from the hospital.

Totally fangirlistic link whose publication on this blog is completely disapproved by Logic : http://twitpic.com/16mfqo (Jakob Fuglsang's new haircut).

(Pic by Waldbillig)

Curaçao stuff + news about O'Grady and Bellis:

I know,the Curaçao Criterium was raced few days ago,but me was too busy (or lazy?) to write a post about it.Anyway,here are some pics (and a vid) from the Criterium (and from the riders' holidays) and 2 links about Saxo Bank riders O'Grady and Bellis.

So,let's start with the Curaçao topics,starting with the "serious thing" (the criterium results) and ending with the Fangirls-stuff (pics and a vid):
CURACAO CRITERIUM: Me would have loved Kenny Van Hummel to win the Amstel Curaçao Criterium,but unfortunately my hopes didn't come true.In fact the winner of the Criterium was Alberto Contador.Hushvod came in 2nd,while 3rd was Koos Moerenhout.4th was Mark Cavendish (if he had won,I think that some of the sprinters that were on the island would have drowned him in the Caribbean sea and blamed the dolphins for that...),while 5th was Kenny Van Hummel.6th was mr.Boasson Hagen.
I don't have any news about the Schleck brothers' placements,but I think they decided to take it easy and just enjoy the race.
CURACAO VID (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-OY2xvOsvU ):yes,in this interview with Lars Boom and Koos Moerenhout you can also see one of the Schleck brothers swimming with dolphins.
CURACAO PICS: Tim De Waele has uploaded his website with the Curaçao pictures and I've managed to find just one (one!) pic involving Jakob Fuglsang.Btw some pics involving 2 shirtless Luxembourgish brothers will probably make you forgive mr.De Waele for the lack of Jakob's pics.
RANDOM THOUGHT: I envy the "Telegraaf" special reporters in Curaçao.Really.Not just because of the cyclists,but also because Curaçao seems such a quiet and wonderful place to be.

NEWS ABOUT CONTADOR,O'GRADY AND BELLIS:

ASTANA-CONTADOR TELENOVELA: I refuse to write anything about it unless there are some certain news about which team mr.Contador will choose to ride for in 2010.
STUART O'GRADY: (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/millar-describes-ogradys-seizure ) Saxo Bank rider Stuart O'Grady collapsed during a corporate event at the MotoGP circuit in Valencia on Sunday.The Australian rider was brought to a Spanish hospital but is now feeling better and will hopefully be able to come back to his home in Monaco tomorrow.
JONATHAN BELLIS (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bellis-back-in-london-and-recovering-well ): A very good news: Jonathan Bellis has arived in a London hospital and is said to be progressing.Hopefully he'll be able to come back to normal life soon.

El Paìs interview with Andy + little news about Bellis:

Now that the "Allez Chris Anker!" weekend is officially over,here's a post about Andy Schleck.
You've probably already read that Cyclingnews article in which an interview from El Paìs was mentioned.Well,I've found that interview (the link is http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/gusta/dinero/fama/elpepudep/20091026elpepidep_31/Tes). and I've translated it.In the Cyclingnews article most of the things were mentioned,but some others were lacking.Here's the whole translation of the article,enjoy!

ANDY SCHLECK: I LIKE MONEY,BUT I DON'T LIKE FAME!
Bahamontes once invited his rivals Coppi and Anquetil to go hunting with him in the Toledo mountains.And so it isn't that strange to hear that Alberto Contador,"the Bahamontes of the 21st century",has invited his rival Andy Schleck,the Luxembourgish cyclist with a young,smiling and fresh face,to take his gun and go hunting the partridges with him.
"I'd really love to go hunting with Alberto,even if I don't think we'll be able to find a weekend in which we are both free to meet each other",said the 24 year-old Andy Schleck,who is not just a friend of Contador,but also a big rival of him.
Journalist: During the Tour presentation you were sitted between Contador and Armstrong.How was that?
Andy: It was a strange feeling.You could actually tell that they aren't best friends.
J: Contador said that you'll be his main rival next year...
AS: I've been his main rival this year and we both left Armstrong behind,but I'm sure that the American rider will get stronger next year.But of course I'll get stronger as well.
J: Can you beat Contador and win the Tour?
AS: Yes,of course I can.
J: What do you need to win?
AS: I've arrived 2nd this year,so I think I can win.I'll need a strong team and I'll also need to improve my climbing skills,since it's on the mountains that you can lose 5 minutes and lose a Tour.
J: Without any doubt,your weakest point is the TT...
AS: Yes,next year there will be a TT of 50 kms on the penultimate day of the Tour and so having good TT skills will be very important,but I'm working a lot on them.Mental training...I've worked a lot with Bobby Julich about it.At the beginning,I was terrible in the TTs,I always used to arrive around the 45th place...But I'm improving year after year and now I'm not that bad.I'll never be as strong as Cancellara,but I can still improve a lot.
J: You said you would need a strong team to win the Tour next year,but in the 2009 Tour Contador didn't actually have a great team,while you had your brother always ready to help you.
AS: I don't agree.Alberto had a team and this team worked for him and was the best one of the whole race.When Alberto took the yellow jersey,they controlled the race for him.
J: Do you think that Contador had a misunderstanding on the Grand Bornard day,when he dropped Kloden and Frank won the stage?
AS: The only "mistake" that Alberto made during the Tour was to challenge his team,but he didn't do that during the Grand Bornard stage.If Alberto hadn't attacked on that day,I would have attacked,I was ready to do it.There was just 1 km of the climb left.Contador decided to attack and we followed him.Kloden was a good teammate for Alberto and now he's gone to another team.

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J: How is it to race with your older brother?
AS: It's a luxury.At the beginning of the Tour we had 2 team leaders,then on the Pyranees Frank told me that he would have worked for me and that I would have been the only leader of the team.I have a great relationship with him.Who else could come and tell me "Jerk,where have you put your shoes?" and things like that? We are great friends also outside from the cycling world.
J: Even if you're the youngest person in your family,people say that you're the family leader...
AS: The family leader is my father,Johnny.
J: Aside from your brother,do you have other friends in your team?
AS: Yes,I get on very well with O'Grady,Breschel,Fuglsang...
J: Did you also use to get on with Carlos Sastre when he was in your team?
AS: Not always.I never understood what his problem was.He won the Tour and everyone who saw the race on the television and knows a bit about cycling understood how we sacrificed ourselves for him.Then he went to talk to the press and said things that didn't make sense,for example he said that we weren't working for him...We were working at 100% for him,we were completely there for him! He's got a problem with his head!

J: On the Alpe d'Huez Frank had the yellow jersey and Sastre attacked.
AS: Frank and I felt very good on that day.We could have won the Tour,but then Carlos attacked,won and that was it.Everyone was happy with his victory,the problem was what he said to the press afterwards.
J: You had your first big result at the Giro 2007,when you arrived 2nd at 22 year-old.Will you come back to Italy in 2010?
AS: No,I'll race the Classics and the Tour.Liegé,Amstel and,for the first time,the Tour of Flanders to get ready for the cobblestones which we'll have to face during the 3rd stage of the Tour.You can't win the Tour in a stage like that one,but you can lose it.That stage doesn't make sense,it seems ridiculous to me.
J: On Wednesday you went to see Madrid-Milan in the Bernabeu.Do you follow football a lot?
AS: To say the truth,I'd never been to a football stadium before of Wednesday.You know,I'm Luxembourgish...Where can I go to see football matches?
J: Did you envy the footballers when you saw the stadium?
AS: In a stadium there are just 70.000 people...On the Tour roads there many more .
J: If you could choose,what would you like the most? Being one of the best footballers of the world,or being one of the best cyclists?
AS: It's a hard question.Football brings you fame and money...I don't like fame,but I do like money!

LITTLE NEWS ABOUT JONATHAN BELLIS:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bellis-to-return-to-britain-following-crash: Jonathan Bellis will shortly go back to Britain and leave the Italian hospital where he's been for more than a month.John is still recovering from head injuries,but I think that it's a good news to hear that,at least,he's now ready to fly back home.

(Andy's pic by Bart Hazen)

R.I.P.Frank:

A very bad news arrived to me this morning: Frank Vandenbroucke has died while he was on holiday in Senegal.Reports in Belgium have said that 34-year-old Belgian cyclist was found in his hotel room and early reports indicate that he died of a blood clot.
Vandenbroucke was out of contract after leaving Cinelli-Down Under but was looking for a team in 2010 just a few weeks ago.
"I'm satisfied with this year," he told reporters last week."I understand that the teams are reluctant to give me another chance,because I carry this past with me.But I think I proved this year that even without a monthly salary,I am still able to live a 100 percent for pro cycling."
Frank had a very brillant,even if short,career.He won the Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 1999 and in the same year he won also 2 stages at the Vuelta.In 1998 instead he won a Gand-Wevegelm.These were probably his most important victories.Vandenbroucke also came in 7th at the Verona Worlds in 1999 although he had 2 broken wrists.He was a champion,but a fragile person,just like Marco Pantani or "El Chaba" Jimenez.Great champions, but fragile people.
Right now there are lots of articles about Frank's death on http://www.cyclingnews.com/ ,on http://www.gazzetta.it/Ciclismo/ and on every other cycling website.
I'd like to offer my condolences to Frank's family,friends and supporters.May he rest in peace.

PS: there's a news about Jonathan Bellis on this link:http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bellis-out-of-coma-still-in-serious-condition .He's out of coma but still in serious condition.My fingers are crossed for him.

GRANDISSIME RAGAZZE!!!!

Eh sì,2 anni dopo Stoccarda un'altra italiana è diventata campionessa del mondo.L'italiana in questione è Tatiana Guderzo,che ha fatto una magnifica gara e ha vinto con 19" di vantaggio su Marianne Vos.Terza un'altra fantastica ciclista italiana,Noemi Cantele.
Purtroppo per motivi non dipendenti dalla mia volontà (scuola) ho potuto vedere solo gli ultimi 10 km di gara.Tatiana ha attaccato sulla penultima salita e ha guadagnato una manciata di secondi su un gruppetto di atlete formato da Marianne Vos,Kristin Armstrong e Noemi Cantele. La 25enne di Marostica (già bronzo alle Olimpiadi di Pechino) ha dimostrato tutta la sua forza ed è perfino riuscita ad incrementare il suo vantaggio sul terzetto inseguitore negli ultimi km della corsa.
La volata per l'argento è stata vinta da Marianne Vos,mentre Noemi Cantele è arrivata 3°.La varesina è stata davvero bravissima a proteggere la fuga della Guderzo e torna a casa da Mendrisio con 2 medaglie al collo.
L'americana Kristin Armstrong,oro nella cronometro,ha douto accontentarsi del 4° posto.
5° è arrivata la lituana Diana Ziliute,che ha regolato allo sprint Arndt,Willock,Braendli,Verbeke, Cheatley,Johansson,Corset,Pucinskaite,Pooley e Stevens.

Le altre ragazze italiane in corsa oggi erano Fabiana Luperini (30° posto finale per lei),Monica Baccaille (46°),Luisa Tamanini (47°) e Giorgia Bronzini.Complimenti a tutte loro e anche al ct Savoldi: hanno fatto una gara perfetta.

English post here: I've already said that in these days I'm more patriotic than usual,and this post half in Italian and half in English probably demonstrates it.Anyway don't worry,I'll be back to normality on Monday (if Andy doesn't win tomorrow...If he does,I think I'll have big problems with coming back to normality!).As you probably already know,Italian Tatiana Guderzo won the women road race this morning and Noemi Cantele came in 3rd,so I'm a bit euphoric about that.

Marianne Vos came in 2nd,while Kristin Armstrong was eventually 4th.5th was Diane Ziliute.

And to think that Cyclingnews didn't even mention the Italian women team in their report about the Worlds...

Anyway,this afternoon there is also the U-23 road race,while tomorrow it's the Elite Men Road Race day.Of course tomorrow I won't be as patriotic as today,but of course I'll be moderately happy if an Italian rider wins.Talking about the Worlds,here are some random links about Luxembourg,,Denmark and Bellis:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/small-luxembourg-team-laying-low :little article in English about Luxembourg team for the Worlds.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/successful-knee-surgery-for-frank-schleck :in this article it is said that Frank's surgery went well and that he's now using crutches for a few days,since his knee is still slightly swollen.

http://twitter.com/Mattibreschel :As far as I know,Matti Breschel was the last cyclist that surrended to Twitter-mania.

http://www.feltet.dk/index.php?id_parent=1&id=28&id_nyhed=22134 :Chris-Anker Sorensen has stated that he's dreaming of a Worlds podium.Fangirl agrees and thinks that,if Chris-Anker really makes it to the gold medal,Logic should leave her completely free for at least 2 days.

http://www.feltet.dk/index.php?id_parent=1&id=28&id_nyhed=22108 :The other Sorensen,Nicki ("the one who won a stage during this year Tour",to put it like Italian chronists do) won't be racing tomorrow because he has temperature and sore throat.His place in the team will be taken by Frank Hoj.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bellis-undergoes-successful-surgery-remains-in-coma :Jonathan Bellis is still in critical but stable conditions.Fingers crossed for him.

(Pics by Bettini and Sirotti)

News about Frank Schleck and Jonathan Bellis:

Finally I've managed to find some news about Frank Schleck.On RTL.Lu there's an article whose title is "Frank Schleck: Operatioun um lénke Knéi gutt verlaf".Here it is:

Virun anerhallwer Woch gouf de Frank Schleck um lénke Knéi operéiert. De Frank Schleck huet RTL gesot, dass d'Operatioun gutt verlaf ass.Dem Saxo Bank-Profi gouf Knorpel ewech geholl.
Den Ament dréit hien nach eng Schinn,déi hien awer an de nächsten Deeg kann ausdoen.Déi nächsten3 Wochen däerf hien awer nach kee Vëlo fueren.Duerno fänkt da schonns d'Preparatioun op déi nei Saison un.

It's not a secret that I can't understand Luxembourgish,so if someone wants to help me with the translation,please leave a comment.However,here are the few things that I understood:
"About a week ago Frank Schleck had to undergo an operation on his left knee.Today Frank has told RTL.Lu that the operation went well.(???).The Saxo Bank rider won't be able to ride his bike for the next 3 weeks.After that time,Frank will be able to begin his preparation for the new season."Anyway that's not the only news I've found about Frank.On http://www.schleck.nl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=468:fraenk-hoopt-op-vroege-rentree&catid=7:nieuws&Itemid=14 in fact I've found another article.Here's my translation of it:

Frank Schleck's already thinking about his comeback.In fact he would like to participate in the Charity Bike Cup,a race held in Stuttgart for the organization Care Star,a charity organisation that cares about children.Frank's partecipation in the race depends on his left knee recovery.The race is held on the 3rd October.If he takes part in the race,Fränk will be the captain of the Radsportakademie & Partner team and will have to ride his bike for 100 kms.Other celebrities who are going to take part in the race are Jan Ullrich, Danilo Hondo,Steffen Wesemann,Rudi Altag and Hanka Kupfernagel.

Fränk said:"To me,helping children is a matter of honor and love.I just hope that my knee recovers soon so that I can be at the start of the Lila Logistik Charity Bike Cup on the 3rd of October.The goal of the race is to help children and this is the reason for which I'll do everything that's possible to be at the start line!"
Of course I hope Frank will manage to be at the start of the race,since helping children is always a really nice thing to do.

Unfortunately in contrast with the good news regarding Frank there's one bad news regarding Saxo Bank rider Jonathan Bellis.During the night between the 18th and the 19th of September,John had a motor scooter accident in Quarrata,near Florence.Fortunately today his condition has improved from "critical" to "stable".

Bellis suffered head injuries in the accident,that occurred at 3:30 am.Jonathan was wearing a helmet and travelling along Via IV Novembre,according to Il Tirreno.Medics took Bellis to a hospital in Careggi, north of Firenze.Police are determining the cause of the accident.National British Under 23 director Max Sciandri immediately joined Bellis at the hospital. Bellis' parents flew to Italy Saturday after they heard of the accident,according to isleofman.com.
Bellis is in Quarrata to train with other British riders and Sciandri.British Cycling had him listed him on the preliminary list of riders for elite World Championships Sunday in Mendrisio, Switzerland.
He finished third in the 2007 Under 23 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. After a trainee period with ProTour team Saxo Bank last fall, he turned professional with the team this season.
"We are saddened by the news of Jonathan's accident, but we know that he is in good hands at the hospital in Florence. Our thoughts and hopes go out to Jonathan, his family and friends,"said Saxo Bank team owner,Bjarne Riis.