Following the announcement that sponsors RadioShack and Nissan will join Leopard Trek next year, Johan Bruyneel has said his aim is to win the Tour de France with Andy Schleck. The Belgian directeur sportif has already won the French race nine times as a director, [seven times with Lance Armstrong and twice with Alberto Contador] and has shown his excitement in working with Tour runner up Schleck next year.
“[Schleck] had already got my attention in 2005 when he first rode the Tour of Georgia,” Bruyneel told Het Nieuwsblad.
“His talent is evident. Otherwise you do not finish the Tour second three times in a row and the Giro in second place. I think it is time that he really starts to believe he can win the Tour. I do not know how he prepares mentally for the Tour.”
Alberto Contador is expected to be back to his best at the Tour next year, should he be exonerated from his clenbuterol case in November. The three times Tour champion tested positive for the banned substance on his way to victory in the race in 2010.
“If Contador is at his best, he is really tough to beat. Ultimately, the Tour is always at the end a battle of man against man. I know Alberto’s ability but he proved already that he is not unbeatable,” added Bruyneel.
The ultimate joining of two teams to make one is not the first complicated matter Bruyneel has had to deal with in the sport. In 2009 Armstrong made his return to cycling and joined Bruyneel at the Astana team. Contador was the leader of the team at the time but both men set their sights on winning the Tour de France that year.
“That was a different matter. Our only objective in 2009 was that there was nothing standing in the way of victory in the Tour. That was not so difficult because I was sure we would win the Tour. I just did not know whether it would be with Lance or Alberto. The greatest difficulty was overcoming those obstacles.”
Speaking of the new team that will be known as the RadioShack Nissan Trek Professional cycling team, Bruyneel said, “Here the challenge is different. There are other people who have already won the Tour like Contador and [Cadel] Evans. Andy and Frank [Schleck] have not yet done this.”
Bruyneel had previously stated the final roster for the team would be made public by 15 September, but the team has made no official announcement yet.