Although the Schleck brothers signed multi-year contracts with the Leopard Trek setup prior to last season, there is growing speculation about whether they will remain put with the team for the duration of that agreement, or if they could compete elsewhere instead in 2013.
According to L’Equipe, the riders’ agent has spoken to other teams about a possible move. While they are contractually bound to the Leopard setup, currently called RadioShack Nissan, tensions within the team have become apparent in recent months, with Frank Schleck being criticised by Johan Bruyneel after he withdrew from the Giro d’Italia with injury.
While things appear to have been patched up with the brothers, Bruyneel’s insistence that their mentor Kim Andersen will not be on the Tour de France has also been a source of frustration. Others on the team have spoken about problems.
If the Schleck brothers were to leave, team management and chief sponsor Flavio Becca would have to agree to that, as legally they are bound by the contracts they signed.
Alternatively, there seems a possibility that Bruyneel may be asked to step aside, both because of the friction in the team, and also because he has been charged by USADA with being part of a long-running doping programme on the US Postal Service team. The team has also been very unsuccessful this year, with just thee wins to its credit thus far.
While injury to Fabian Cancellara is part of the reason for this, it’s been apparent for several months that things are not clicking. Becca is unlikely to be satisfied, and will be putting pressure on for things to change.