Andy Schleck crashed during the stage 4 of the Criterium du Dauphine 2012
Andy Schleck is already facing a lot of criticism for his struggling form and it seems as if the cyclist’s bad run of luck is not yet over.
The 26-year-old was looking good to find his form at the Criterium du Dauphine but could not catch the eye of the Team Sports Director after the early stages of the event.
He crashed during the 53 kilometre Individual Time Trial stage 4 of the French race in the final 12 kilometres of the race.
Although, he managed to recover from the crash without wasting much time but could not secure any better than the 164th position during the stage.
He was disappointed after the poor performance and briefed, "When we did the parcours this morning the wind wasn't like that".
"I had a good start and good feelings until there. After that, I kept on going but I didn't have the concentration after that”.
“I just wanted to get to the finish. I couldn't go in the [time trial] position anymore".
"After a crash you get on the bike and you have the adrenaline for the first few kilometres, but after a while my ribs hurt and my hand hurt”.
"Still, I'm sitting here and not in an ambulance, so that's a good sign".
The Luxembourg rider revealed recently that he had undergone a knee injury which was the main reason behind his dipping performance in the current season.
However, Team RadioShack-Nissan Sports Director Kim Andersen noted that the cyclist had a minor surgery which went without any complications.
He also believes that the treatment had nothing to do with Andy’s poor performances as it only took couple of days to recover from the surgery.
Schleck’s main goal is to represent Team RadioShack-Nissan at the Tour de France 2012.
He has managed to find podium during the three versions of the race but there is a big question mark on his current form, as to whether he will even be given a chance to lead the Luxembourg based team.
The 2012 edition of the Tour de France is scheduled from June 30 to July 22 and winner of the race will be awarded with as many as 200 UCI points.
The second and the third position holders will earn 150 and 120 points each.
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