Team admits its captain is still in a "difficult period"
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Andy Schleck (RadioShack) is still in the race after stage 2(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
A relaxed Andy Schleck (RadioShack Leopard) before the start.(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Andy Schleck (RadioShack - Nissan)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Andy Schleck (RadioShack Leopard) takes the start of the GP Camaiore.(Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
RadioShack-Leopard sport director and Andy Schleck confidant Kim Andersen has denied allegations of Schleck's drunkenness at a Munich airport hotel airport earlier this week. The team admits though that the Luxembourger is going through a “difficult period” at the moment,and team owner Flavio Becca indicated that he is losing patience with his rider.
A French politician posted earlier this week on Facebook that he saw Schleck at an airport hotel in Munich on the night after he had abandoned Tirreno-Adriatico Schleck has not been available for comment.
“The story is untrue,” Andersen told the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet. “Andy was indeed at the hotel, but it is simply not true that he behaved that way. That is what Andy told me and I have no reason to doubt it.
“I'm tired of the fact that such a ridiculous story can run around the world.”
The politician, Pierre-Yves Le Borgn, apologized to Schleck. “I am sorry to have written these lines. I have admired Andy Schleck for years. I didn't know what my Facebook entry would do. Now it is clear to me that it was awkward and naïve.”
The team is taking the matter seriously, though. “We can't be happy with what we have heard,” Becca told Het Nieuwsblad. "We first want Andy's side of the story. Andy is our captain and we will do all that we can so that he can lead the team in the classics and the Tour."
However, Becca spoke more harshly to Gazzetta della Sport. “Often I have told Andy that I'm not happy with how he behaves. Now I hope you have the courage to make an honest statement, to clarify things right, and start being a serious athlete trying to pursue success.”
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"Andy is going through a difficult period," sport director Dirk Demol told Het Nieuwsblad. “We thought he was on the right track, but after Tirreno we must conclude that he still has a lot of doubts.”
Team director Luca Guercilena has already said, "We want our Andy back. We think he can benefit from working with someone in the effort to help him find his old self. This is important to all of us."
