Andy Schleck (Luxembourg, Leopard Trek)
© Tim de Waele
Andy Schleck spared no time in making his feelings known regarding the final descent on yesterday’s stage from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Gap. The younger Schleck was the biggest loser on the day, coming in 1:09 down on Cadel Evans and 1:06 down on Alberto Contador.
“It was a dangerous finish,” Schleck said on live TV after the finish. “It was not a super climb, I did not feel super, when [Contador] attacked and I did a bad downhill.
“Somebody in front of me slid on the first corner and I had to clip a pedal out and had a gap of 150 meters,” he explained. “I couldn’t close it to the bottom so… but there’s other days to come.”
At a press conference on Monday Schleck voiced his concerns regarding the final descent on Stage 17 into Italy, obviously unhappy with what he feels is poor planning by the race organizer, ASO.
"That's ridiculous," he said in his press conference. "It looks like a bike path across a wood. I trained three times in the descent and I already felt it too risky".
He went so far as to rate the descent as "mortally dangerous."
"If it rains many riders will go to the hospital," he said.
Photo (c) Tim De Waele
Descending is of course a skill in cycling and one that can decide a race. The Milan-San Remo course is a good example of that with the Poggio descent, where a skilled descender can put in many seconds on a more timid downhiller. Yet rider safety is also paramount, and with the death of teammate Wouter Weylandt at this year’s Giro d’Italia, the Leopard-Trek riders are rightly wary of being out in danger.
Race director Jean-Francois Pescheux responded by saying that the descent on today’s stage is “not dangerous.” If there is rain though and we see a bad crash he may receive more rider complaints.
The ascent of the climb on today’s stage is steeper than yesterday’s and we can expect Contador to try his luck once again, now aware that Andy Schleck is wary of the descent.
Photo (c) Tim De Waele
