Luxembourg federation indicates rider’s tooth problem will see him miss race
Although he was officially confirmed this week by the Luxembourg cycling federation as being part of its six man team for the world road race championships, Andy Schleck’s ongoing dental issues appear to have ruled out his participation in the race.
VeloNation understands that an announcement is likely to come tomorrow but, for now, Luxembourg newspaper l’Essentiel is one of many publications announcing that the rider has already decided to give the worlds a miss.
The rider pulled out of his scheduled participation in the recent Canadian WorldTour races because of a necessary operation on his wisdom tooth. He was due to return to action in yesterday’s GP de Wallonie, but decided to miss both it plus the upcoming GP de la Somme and the GP Isbergues. “The healing is going slower than expected and his training schedule has been disturbed because of this, Leopard Trek spokesman Tim Vanderjeugd confirmed to VeloNation yesterday. He said then that Schleck still hoped to compete in the worlds.
According to l’Essential, the Luxembourg cycling federation itself confirmed today that the rider would not be part of the team, and that five riders rather than six will race in Copenhagen. It states that the young reserve rider Bob Jungels will not be entered as Schleck’s replacement.
His elder brother Frank Schleck will take part, as planned.
L’Essential states that the federation is not frustrated by the Tour de France runner-up’s choice, saying that it is “useless to go to just make up the numbers.”
This year’s world championship course is the flattest in several years and is widely predicted to end in a large sprint. Schleck would likely have had very little chance of taking a medal on the course, although he could have ridden for a faster team-mate.
The biggest difficulty in missing the worlds may not be his absence from the results there, but rather in this affecting his preparation for the Giro di Lombardia, one of his top late season goals.
A large gap in racing will undoubtedly count against him and, if there’s any further delays in his dental recovery, could prompt the rider to end his season early.
Confirmation of his end of season plans is likely to come in the near future.