Leopard Trek’s powerful roster hoping to dethrone Gilbert on Easter Sunday
Despite another crushing defeat at the hands of Philippe Gilbert, the Walloon’s rivals aren’t giving up the ghost just yet ahead of the spring’s final Monument, Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
Leopard Trek’s Amstel and Liege winning duo of Fränk and Andy Schleck, in particular, think they can come to grips with the Gilbert onslaught.
“Liege will be a totally different race than La Fleche Wallonne. We still have a few days to devise a strategy,” says Tour de France runner-up and former Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner, Andy Schleck.
The younger Schleck brother (along with many other pundits) feels that Gilbert’s dominance so far could be his downfall in the most prestigious of the three Ardennes races, resulting in something that can only be called the Cancellara Effect – when all heads turn to one rider and one rider only.
“In Huy, he was again clearly the best, but perhaps that will be his downfall on Sunday. It’s up to us to take advantage of his status as favorite.”
Andy, so far a quiet participant in the 2011 season, feels that the increased difficulty and length of La Doyenne on Sunday, along with an aggressive race, could be what’s needed to dethrone the new Classics King.
“Liege is 60km longer than La Fleche Wallonne, and the climbs are a lot harder. Wednesday, we never really raced. After four kilometers, a break went, and the race was paralyzed. Liege will be a totally different race.”
Elder brother, Fränk sees an opportunity in his team’s power, which is certainly no push over and without question a squad capable of causing Gilbert and his Omega Pharma-Lotto team problems. If any team’s collective might could manage it, one would think the combined forces of Fränk and Andy Schleck, Fabian Wegmann, Maxime Monfort, Jens Voigt, and Jakob Fuglsang could manage to topple Gilbert.
“Fortunately, we have a few days to consider a good tactic. I am confident that we can beat him as a team. That’s the nice thing about this week. Three different races, three different courses, and three different strategies.”