RadioShack-Leopard owner puts Andy Schleck in last chance saloon after claimed drinking binge

I also confess to getting rat arsed. There. It's out, now.

Schleck and contador will never be the riders they once were ,
Contador can no longer maintain the attacks on the climbs,
As seen in Oman and tirreno ,
Interesting how the first nearly clean tour was won by Evans , after years of finishing further down the field.
When Wiggo lost the tour in 2009 he was robbed of a podium by cheats
I think schleck needs a little more help than just an arm around him

From lanterne rouge to vin rouge...

I'm just reading 'The Death of Marco Pantani'; are there any similarities here? Pantani seemed to have the world at his feet after 1998 but fell apart, stopped finishing races, drank / took drugs (performance enhancing and otherwise) and his career was soon over. Schleck always looked more stable and less emotional but could he go the same way?

Joking apart, I agree with others that it's a shame. He is (was?) one of the best at climbing and he could work on his descending and TT weaknesses if he had the desire, although he'll obviously never be a Nibali or a Wiggins in those two departments. He just seems to have lost it mentally - he's (presumably) comfortably off now, Frank's ban seems to have hit him hard, he's had a serious injury and who knows what effect Wouter Weylandt's death had on him too. I don't think that Becca telling him to pull himself together will have much effect, unfortunately.

He's too big headed. Literally.

When Leopard Trek was set up it was Schleck's team and he was at the top of his form, he went head to head with Evans and lost a fair fight in an epic chasedown. The merger with Radioshack has brought some retroactive association that are not Andy's fault. No matter how many people believe in guilt by association you know how the law works and drug references are just a cheap shot. The time has come for him to split from his brother and move to a new team as his team are no longer supporting him. If my arse had broken in two *exaggeration* I would be off form for years/forever.

However, Sky is full, it already has two team leaders and plenty of developing riders. I can see why people are saying this as the Sky ethos would give him focus, but I think right now it would just chew him up and spit him out.

If that means moving to a slightly weaker Belgian team for example that would just be a risk worth taking and accepting that he might not be a GC contender again. The fact is that he was never a complete allrounder anyway.

So what if he was pissed at an airport, Wiggo was pissed live on national television. Remember these things are not scene from a film, you can't skip to the end and assume it is a tragic rise and fall story.

I agree that the issue is more down to his mental state although in his autobiography Andy Millar describes a sleep drug cyclists used and but when combined with Alcohol puts you in a right state, it could be a similar combo Schleck is doing.

I agree that Andy's team is failing him. I liked the detail that he was wearing a jacket from the old Leopard-Trek team -- hanging on to memories of happier times, perhaps.

I suspect the mp is after a bit of publicity.

'Why would they even consider him - Sky are a successful team with good training and support routines, and a team in every sense.'

...and a zero-tolerance policy too. No chance Andy.

A decent team would have him with counsellors not threatening him. I've seen a lot of criticism of AS this last 12-18 months but to me it's been obvious he has mental health issues. Probably made worse by Frank's +'ve tests and ban and his femur injury. As a sufferer of chronic depression I know the guy needs support. Sadly it doesn't look like he get it in this team. And again sadly I can see this being the end of births cycling careers, which have never fulfilled their promise.

It's quite a shame, if his head was in the right place I reckon he'd be right at the top. I also reckon a stint at sky would help him with that, their mental health and attitude arrangements seem very good.

Haha, brilliant Sadly

[applause]

Sadly he seems to have misunderstood the common criticism that he needs to get better at going downhill.