Luxembourg rider states non-finish was due to crash and circumstance rather than fitness level
He’s finished in the top ten of the Amstel Gold Race before and also taken a dominant win in the 2009 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but Andy Schleck insists that he’s not too discouraged by his non-finish in today’s Amstel race.
The RadioShack Leopard rider withdrew from the event long before the end, falling too far behind the bunch to be able to regain contact. However he explains that as being as a result of two enforced stops during the tough Classic, time delays which made it too difficult to get back to the peloton.
“There was a cross-wind section at eighty kilometres to go as we entered the last part of the race. It was really a nervous part of the race,” he explained. “A crash occurred on my left and then came my way on the right. I did quickly get back on the bike, but then I had to stop to change the wheel and the race went on ahead. I never made it back again.”
Schleck is far from the only rider not to finish today, and remains determined to keep going through the two remaining Ardennes Classics. “It doesn’t change anything for my upcoming races,” he insisted. “I am sore in my ribs where the handlebars hit me and maybe a loss of some skin, but I’m okay. I just lost too much time, but I’m not hurt.”
He’s been on the back foot ever since he crashed in last year’s Critérium du Dauphiné, fracturing his pelvis. A succession of withdrawals from races followed, although he’s shown better form of late. He’s still a long way off where he was in the past, but he believes he is continuously making progress.
“I’m skinny right now and I have been doing a lot of training. It will show sooner or later, and I hope it’s sooner,” he said. “Next is Flèche and then Liège. This was a nervous Amstel, always a constant fight to stay in position. I felt good. It seems unusual to say I felt good and then not finish but all in all, I didn’t feel bad.”
He’ll be back in action again in three day’s time in Flèche Wallonne.