# Andy Schleck retires from professional cycling



## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

Andy Schleck retires from professional cycling | Cyclingnews.com

I'm not at all surprised. I'm in the camp that thinks he was never a good cyclist without being performance enhanced. He couldn't even keep up with the peloton these last few years.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

I thought he already had, his bike just didn't know it yet.


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## rufus (Feb 3, 2004)

What, he didn't wait for Frank to do it first?


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## phoehn9111 (May 11, 2005)

His hip had been broken. Full recovery from that is like a 50\50 shot.
His knee had both ligaments damaged. Could never recover. C'mon
guys, pro cycling is brutally difficult. Plenty of riders struggle. I won't
even start naming all the names, there are too many. Let's give the
fellow the benefit of the doubt. A shame all that potential.


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## Retro Grouch (Apr 30, 2002)

MMsRepBike said:


> I'm in the camp that thinks he was never a good cyclist without being performance enhanced. He couldn't even keep up with the peloton these last few years.


Andy was not able to keep up with the peloton without being “performance enhance”?

That speaks volumes about his competition.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

phoehn9111 said:


> His hip had been broken. Full recovery from that is like a 50\50 shot.
> His knee had both ligaments damaged. Could never recover. C'mon
> guys, pro cycling is brutally difficult. Plenty of riders struggle. I won't
> even start naming all the names, there are too many. Let's give the
> fellow the benefit of the doubt. A shame all that potential.


No, I'm pretty sure everyone is tougher than Andy, or would like to think so.


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

Not a big fan of Andy, but it's a pity to see him retire so young - a pity, but not a surprise.

Good luck to him.


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## Retro Grouch (Apr 30, 2002)

My hope is Andy Schleck finds purpose and direction in his post professional cycling career.

I'd hate to see the tragedy of Jose María Jiménez, Marco Pantani or Frank Vandenbroucke repeat itself.


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## BikeLayne (Apr 4, 2014)

Good for him. At least he can now look to his future and go back to school or whatever he see's ahead for him.


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## jajichan (Jul 9, 2014)

phoehn9111 said:


> His hip had been broken. Full recovery from that is like a 50\50 shot.
> His knee had both ligaments damaged. Could never recover. C'mon
> guys, pro cycling is brutally difficult. Plenty of riders struggle. I won't
> even start naming all the names, there are too many. Let's give the
> fellow the benefit of the doubt. A shame all that potential.


I'm glad he's done. Good riddance. Hopefully his brother follows shortly.

Dopers galore.


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## aclinjury (Sep 12, 2011)

phoehn9111 said:


> His hip had been broken. Full recovery from that is like a 50\50 shot.
> His knee had both ligaments damaged. Could never recover. C'mon
> guys, pro cycling is brutally difficult. Plenty of riders struggle. I won't
> even start naming all the names, there are too many. Let's give the
> fellow the benefit of the doubt. A shame all that potential.


You are absolutely wrong. Every Joe on Earth that I have spoken with has opined that if it were them to have suffered the same damage, they would shrug it off, no problem. You must respect Joe Weekend Warrior! dammit.


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## robt57 (Jul 23, 2011)

_ said:


> I'm glad he's done. Good riddance. Hopefully his brother follows shortly.
> 
> Dopers galore.


Sigh/Meh! Like to see a list the ones that are not. Rhetorical, please don't bother... No way to prove they are all not dopers, surly rider in site of the top anyway.

I am not singling out you, only the sentiment in the post.


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## jajichan (Jul 9, 2014)

robt57 said:


> Sigh/Meh! Like to see a list the ones that are not. Rhetorical, please don't bother... No way to prove they are all not dopers, surly rider in site of the top anyway.
> 
> I am not singling out you, only the sentiment in the post.


But this thread isn't about the others, it's about Andy. My sentiment is not aimed only at the Schleck brothers, I assure you.


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## robt57 (Jul 23, 2011)

jajichan said:


> But this thread isn't about the others, it's about Andy. My sentiment is not aimed only at the Schleck brothers, I assure you.


Acknowledged...


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## Ventruck (Mar 9, 2009)

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. A knee prone to accelerated worsening/wear isn't too far fetched imo. Some people recover for injury well, others not so much. 

While I laughed at Schleck fans for desperately trying to spite Contador, but I can't totally hate on Andy. We can question his integrity, but he did get results with a rather limited skill set. He arguably wasn't even the best climber at any time given his competition was healthy.

RIP Andy.


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## robt57 (Jul 23, 2011)

Retro Grouch said:


> Andy was not able to keep up with the peloton without being “performance enhance”?
> 
> That speaks volumes about his competition.



Ya think?


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## Silchas Ruin (Oct 24, 2013)

He doesn't look like a very durable athlete. Some cyclist can be really skinny, and still look strong and healthy, but he's always looked unnatural to me. Looking at his physique and posture, I'd bet he has back pain too.


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## crowaan (Aug 13, 2013)

I think he retired because he never fully recovered from his hip injury and could not get back to his best form. A weekend warrior saying they would shrug it off is a lot different than an elite level racer, they put their bodies through whole different stresses.

I don't think it has anything to do with not being able to keep up with the pelaton as a clean rider. Is that just saying the pelaton is all dirty or he was just never a naturally good rider? The boost a rider gains from doping continues after they stop because they were able to train harder and longer when they were doped up. If that was true about Andy (and Frank) he should have been able to compete which clearly points to his hip and knee being the reason he retired.


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## robt57 (Jul 23, 2011)

Perhaps with the doping controls so stringent, the 'normal' recovery was impeded. I remember Beloki never really made it back to previous levels also, magnitude of injury and recovery time et al.


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## jajichan (Jul 9, 2014)

crowaan said:


> I think he retired because he never fully recovered from his hip injury and could not get back to his best form. A weekend warrior saying they would shrug it off is a lot different than an elite level racer, they put their bodies through whole different stresses.
> 
> I don't think it has anything to do with not being able to keep up with the pelaton as a clean rider. Is that just saying the pelaton is all dirty or he was just never a naturally good rider? *The boost a rider gains from doping continues after they stop because they were able to train harder and longer when they were doped up. * If that was true about Andy (and Frank) he should have been able to compete which clearly points to his hip and knee being the reason he retired.


Not necessarily. Not a lot of definitive evidence for endurance sport. 

And if your body's own production decreases due to synthetic versions then that could be a big problem if those synthetic versions are no longer available.


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## mambo (Jul 29, 2012)

aclinjury said:


> You are absolutely wrong. Every Joe on Earth that I have spoken with has opined that if it were them to have suffered the same damage, they would shrug it off, no problem. You must respect Joe Weekend Warrior! dammit.


But would they be as fast as before?


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## superg (May 9, 2010)

Sadly, he didn't materialize his full potential. For one reason or the other. People, as usual, will hold on to what they want to believe. I wish him good luck in his future endeavours.


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## 70charger500 (Aug 28, 2013)

Sad to see Andy's career end like this, but if he wasn't going to get back to form, maybe it for the best in the long run. Hope he has a good plan and finds happiness in the future for he and his new family.


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

against my better judgement, i actually read this thread....doping, schadenfreude, and pure negativity....i should neg rep myself. :mad2:


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## phoehn9111 (May 11, 2005)

So based on some nebulous word of mouth from the cycling community
you are able to infer an objective judgment on his medical status at
the top of the sport. Oops, I get it. You're busting our stones. Haha.
Honestly, it's like the OJ trial. We will never know the absolute truth.
I am guilty of assuming he was brave and tough enough to surmount
anything short of catastrophy, but he may have lacked the killer spirit.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

robt57 said:


> Perhaps with the doping controls so stringent, the 'normal' recovery was impeded. I remember Beloki never really made it back to previous levels also, magnitude of injury and recovery time et al.


Menchov also comes to mind. Without seeing the x-rays, it's hard to say. Even then, it's not always easy to see pain. The injury could be the truth or it could be a cover up. I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it.


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

> "...yes there was a lack of motivation at points. I was training and training and then I was going to races and I was being dropped. I’d ask myself what I was doing wrong but I needed to fight.”
> 
> 
> There were further problems off the bike with stories of a lack of motivation, rumours of a drink problem and concerns over his biological passport - swiftly denied by his team - raised in the media.


One thing's for sure, it's not an easy sport.


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## BillyWayne (Aug 1, 2011)

I was one who ripped Andy every time he disappointed, dropped out, or did not finish well. It became predictable and easy. Maybe I really wanted him to do well and was secretly rooting for him. I did like him when he first became a pro. Now I feel bad. Walking away from any sport is tough for most athletes. Plus cycling was his job, his income. I never saw him as a bad guy, he just did not live up to the expectations. On a personal, human level I do wish him well.


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## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

I wish him well and hope he will stay with the sport that he loves so much. Sometimes the body takes a long time to heal and sometimes it never gets back to 100%.

Andy Schleck announces retirement from bike racing - VeloNews.com



> He last raced in the Tour de France on July 8, when he crashed with about 30 kilometers to race on London’s streets.
> 
> “I had operations in Basel [Switzerland], I could ride, but my knee kept swelling, over and over again, pain again and again. My doctor told me there wasn’t much they could do. I hoped it’d get better, but it didn’t,” said Schleck, who paused a few times to collect himself.​






> “When I crashed, I felt my leg was a broken. I could not stand. I made it back and finished the stage, but I could hardly walk up the stairs to the bus, I was scared,” Schleck said.
> 
> “My ligaments are fine, they healed properly, but I almost have no cartridge underneath. I had to consider my options.
> 
> “It’d be nice to plan my retirement Jens Voigt did, but I can’t do that. I can’t ride anymore because my knee will not support me on the bike.”


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## burgrat (Nov 18, 2005)

I wish him the best in his future. I think he was an easy target for many of us "armchair quarterbacks", but pro cycling is a very hard sport and he has some great victories to look back on. I certainly don't think he lived up to his potential, but how many of us can say the same in our lives?
I think he will have a good future, no matter what he chooses to do. Hell he could take 10 years off and make a comeback and still be 3 years younger than Horner is right now, so never say never!


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

I was, and still am, a fan of the guy. Best of luck! Best of luck to your brother!


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