Season of woe continues for Luxembourg star with the Tour de France just weeks away
Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) pulled out of the Critérium du Dauphiné after just 64km of today’s mountain stage between Saint-Alban-Leysse and Morzine, suffering from the injuries he sustained in a crash in Thursday’s time trial. The Luxemburger had been struggling for form in the race’s early, hilly stages, but his crash has made things worse. He struggled to the finish of yesterday’s tough stage between Saint-Trivier-sur-Moignans and Rumilly - which climbed Le Grand Colombier - losing almost 14 minutes by the finish.
"He couldn’t pedal anymore", RadioShack-Nissan directeur sportif Alain Gallopin told letour.fr. "Since he crashed during the time trial, the whole right side of his body was hurting. He was climbing all right but he was suffering to hold his bike. Yesterday, he managed to finish but today, racing had become too difficult."
With the Tour de France, the focus of Schleck’s season, approaching he had intended to continue the race, as he said via the RadioShack-Nissan team’s website after yesterday’s stage.
"The most important thing is that I go on and do race kilometres,” he explained. “I need the race rhythm. In the beginning of the season when a time comes like this, you can think of abandoning but that is not an option now with the Tour in four weeks. There is no turning back.”
Schleck’s abandon is the latest disappointment in a poor season to date, with his best result so far being his 22nd overall in the Circuit de la Sarthe. It also comes as another blow to his team, after elder brother Fränk’s abandon of the Giro d’Italia last month.
Both Schleck’s have already been put on the back foot with the Tour de France featuring 100km of time trialling - the bogey discipline of both brothers - but successive lacklustre performances, and the abandoning of key races, could cost them dear in July.
More to follow on this story.