Double Tour de France runner-up Andy Schleck has said that he believes his main rival Alberto Contador could be biting off more than he can chew with his intended Giro-Tour participation this season, reasoning that riding the Italian event will leave him depleted in the second.
“If Alberto really starts the Giro to win it, it is certainly not the ideal preparation for the Tour de France,” the Luxembourg rider told L’Equipe. “Previously, you might win two races of that calibre in the same season, but today? That’s the question…”
Marco Pantani is the last rider to successfully do the double, achieving that goal thirteen years ago in 1998. Since then, all who have won the first have not succeeded in the second, faltering in the Tour. Contador won the Giro three years ago but his Astana team were blocked from starting the French event, meaning that he was unable to attempt to win the two races in the same year.
Once reason why it is seen as so tough to excel in both is because the Giro is so difficult nowadays, both due to the course, and also because so many teams are at 100 percent trying to win it. Another reason is because of increased specialisation and peaking, with riders putting everything on hitting a higher peak of form for a few weeks rather than riding consistently all season.
Schleck believes in starting the Tour with 100 percent of his reserves, as he is convinced that everything will come down to the final week. “Once again it will be decided in the third week, in which there are two stages where one can make a different. Which ones? For me, the stage to Alpe d’Huez is too short to make [big] differences. I believe more in the stage that is partly in Italy, and features the Agnello, Izoard and Galibier.”
One reason why Contador may be willing to risk things and aim for the Giro win is because he is not guaranteed to start the Tour de France. He is currently allowed race after the RFEC (Spanish Cycling Federation) has cleared him on charges of doping during last year’s Tour, but this decision is open to appeal by WADA and/or the UCI to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Depending on the timeframe of an appeal, there is a chance that a decision would not be made before the start of the French event.
No panic over team’s lack of victories in 2011
Schleck was asked by journalists if he was concerned by the fact that his new Leopard-Trek team is one of five ProTeams without a victory this season. The others are Saxo Bank – SunGard, from which many of the Leopard riders transferred, plus the BMC Racing Team, Astana and Euskaltel.
The team has gone close, with Daniele Bennati netting four second places in all, and Cancellara picking up one. All came in either the Tour of Qatar or the Tour of Oman. Bennati also has two third places to his credit from Qatar.
Schleck isn’t too concerned, though, recognising that the quality of the team means that the wins will start coming, and likely sooner rather than later.
“It would be great to win the team time trial in Tirreno-Adriatico,” he said, according to Cyclisme Actu. “We have strong guys for there. Of course, it would be necessary to Sky and Liquigas, but with Fabian (Cancellara), over sixteen kilometres, we can do well. In this case, it would be a team success.”
He said that he remembered the same situation for the Saxo Bank team in 2008. It went winless, then pulled off a very big victory when Cancellara soloed to success in Milan-Sanremo. That opened the gates and many more followed.
“All the riders who will compete in the Flandrian Classics are already very strong. Those of use who are preparing for the Ardennes, we will come later, as usual. Everything is in order. Of course, a stage win in Qatar or Oman would have been nice. In cycling, we know that only first place counts. We wait, but I am not worried. It's coming.”