Says team would have beaten Contador otherwise, won’t talk about 2011 plans
Team Saxo Bank rider Frank Schleck missed out on his plan of racing to Paris, but he turned up nonetheless in the French capital to congratulate his brother Andy on his performance. The younger Schleck finished as runner-up for the second year in succession, ending the race just 39 seconds behind Alberto Contador (Astana).
Given the close margin, Frank Schleck is convinced that his presence would have made the difference. “I was super happy when Andy won a stage and went into yellow,” he told Sporten.dk. “But several times I sat there and wondered what we could have done in terms of tactical manoeuvring, if I had been there with him.
“I believe we would have won the Tour if we had both been there, because I was really strong this year. I’m in really good shape.”
The 30 year old went into the Tour motivated after winning the Tour de Suisse. He was regarded as one of the ones to watch, particularly as he showed a vastly-improved time trial ability in Switzerland, but he fell on the cobbles of stage three and went out of the race with a broken collarbone.
He returned home to his wife Martine and his daughter Leea, and watched the race on television. It was a struggle at first. “Especially in the days after the crash, it was really hard to see the others race,” he admitted. “It was frustrating.”
So too the thoughts that he could have made a difference had he been there. “It was really close, but there are no regrets. The team has ridden strongly and everyone showed they were 100 percent motivated to ride for Andy. And Andy did everything right,” he said.
The elder Schleck has ridden strongly in recent Tours. He won the stage to Alpe d’Huez in 2006, wore the yellow jersey and placed fifth in 2008, and again placed fifth last year. Up until the moment he crashed out of this year’s Tour, it was believed possible by many that the two brothers could have finished on the podium in Paris.
Both are expected to leave Bjarne Riis’ team and go to a new Luxembourg-based squad in 2011. Riis has acknowledged that several important riders are departing, but stated before the Tour that he was fully committed to working with those in question and getting the best possible result in Paris.
Schleck declined the chance to clarify what he plans are. “I cannot say anything about it now,” he stated. “Right now we will just celebrate with Andy after three weeks filled with stress. We will sit down later and assess everything.”