Tour runner up wants to help his brother win the Vuelta and ride Lombardia so rules out trip to Australia
Andy Schleck has ruled himself out of the Luxembourg national team for the World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. The 25-year-old Tour de France runner up told his national federation (FSCL) that after riding the Vuelta a España in support of elder brother Fränk he plans to ride well at the Giro di Lombardia and the long journey to Australia and back does not fit in with his plans.
The younger Schleck brother has not raced competitively since the tour de France, but had a full programme in the months that led up to the race. His season started with Tirreno-Adriatico in March, followed by the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, the Ardennes classics, the Tour of California and the tour de Suisse.
Riding the Vuelta will make for a very full season; he rode the first week of the race last year before abandoning with knee problems. The injury also caused him to abandon the World Championship race in Mendrisio, Switzerland, where his season ended.
Schleck’s absence leaves Luxembourg in a curious situation of being allocated more places than it has riders. As a nation with a rider in the top-100 of the International Cycling Union (UCI) World Ranking, Luxembourg is allocated four riders in the road race, with Andy, and very likely Fränk Schleck sitting the race out, and Kim Kirchen on the verge of retirement after a cardiac arrest at the Tour de Suisse, the Grand Duchy may have trouble filling its allocation.