After questions about where he will race in 2014, Andy Schleck has confirmed that he will indeed form part of the new Trek team next year.
The Luxembourg rider will transfer across to the squad from the current RadioShack Leopard team. The WorldTour licence holder Flavio Becca is selling the licence to those who will run the new setup, while Trek is stepping up from its current position as third sponsor to becoming the title backer of the team.
“I can confirm that I'm going next year with Team Trek. I look forward to this new project,” Schleck said, according to Wort.lu. “We will have new jerseys, but otherwise it does not change much, even if we are leaving some riders.”
The rest of the team lineup is yet to be confirmed but Fabian Cancellara has already signed up.
It is thought that Schleck’s brother Fränk will also move across to the new setup. Andy Schleck has made clear on many times in the past that they will not compete on different squads, and he repeated that recently.
The elder brother has been sidelined from racing since July of last year due to a positive test for the diuretic Xipamide. He is now eligible to compete again but at the start of this month, the company owning the current RadioShack Leopard licence indicated that Fränk Schleck would not be brought back on board.
It now remains to be seen if Leopard SA will back down on that position or if Fränk Schleck will sign a short term contract with a different team prior to moving across to the new Trek setup.
According to Andy Schleck, longtime directeur sportif Kim Andersen will be once again directing them next year.
Andy Schleck has been below his previous Tour-winning level since finishing second in the 2011 Tour. He suffered a fractured pelvis last year when he crashed in the Criterium du Dauphiné, but has shown flashes of form in the Tour de France.
He is sitting twentieth overall starting the final stage and if he can continue his progression, could be a contender for a long-awaited victory later this season.