Leopard Trek brothers reveal they will skip the Vuelta to race in Colorado
Cadel Evans (BMC) with .Andy and Frank Schleck (Leopard Trek) (Image credit: Sirotti)
Fränk and Andy Schleck were the stars of the Gala Tour de France criterium in Luxembourg on Thursday evening, with the two brothers taking first and third, while Frenchman Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) finished between them in second place.
The Schlecks rode two other criteriums immediately after the Tour de France but revealed to L’Equipe they are feeling the fatigue after fighting so hard for victory in the three-week race. However Fränk Schleck will lead the Leopard Trek team at the Clasica San Sebastian on Saturday and hopes to have kept some of his Tour de France form for the hilly Basque classic.
"We're very, very tired. But I want to keep the pressure on until the Clasica San Sebastian,” he told L’Equipe before the criterium. “My form from the Tour de France can’t have disappeared and I hope to have the freshness needed to do something, even if it’s in a complicated and nervous race.”
No Vuelta this year
Last year both Andy and Fränk rode the Vuelta Espana. Fränk finished fifth overall but Andy was sent home from the race by Saxo Bank team manager Bjarne Riis after going out drinking after a stage.
Frânk revealed that both he and Andy will skip this year’s Vuelta and instead ride the USA ProCycling Challenge in Colorado. The seven-day race will be held between August 22-28.
Andy rode the Amgen Tour of California in May but this will be Fränk’s first race trip to the USA this season.
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The organisers of the USA ProCycling Challenge are expected to reveal details of team rosters on Friday. RadioShack, HTC-Highroad, Garmin-Cervélo, BMC and Liquigas-Cannondale have all secured places to the race, along with UnitedHealthcare, Geox-TMC, Team Type 1-Sanofi-Aventis, SpiderTech, Bissell, Endura Racing, Gobernación de Antoquia, Jamis-Sutter Home and PureBlack.
