Andy Schleck returning at the Memorial Vandenbroucke Binche-Tournai-Binche
Return of Andy Schleck at the international scene is a question every sports fan is asking and so is Johan Bruyneel because the cyclist’s absence has definitely affected him the most.
However, it has now been confirmed by Team RadioShack-Nissan that the Luxembourg cyclist will be marking his return at the Memorial Vandenbroucke Binche-Tournai-Binche race in Belgium.
Andy crashed during the Criterium du Dauphine on June 7th and has not raced since then. The crash also cost him a Tour de France, US Pro Cycling Challenge and the recent GP Fourmies participation.
The 27-year-old is categorised as one of the best stage race cyclist and hold as many as five Grand Tour appearances under his belt.
He finished second during his first Grand Tour appearance at the Giro d’Italia 2007 and achieved the 12th overall position during his first Tour de France participation in 2008.
Schleck managed to claim the second overall position during the past three versions of the Tour de France through, 2009-2011 but the exclusion of Alberto Contador from the 2010 edition of the race has earned Andy a top spot.
The Luxembourg cyclist was a pre-race favourite for this year’s Tour de France especially after the elimination of Contador but his health restricted him even from participating at the race.
His elder brother, Frank Schleck had to ride the French race alone and it was the first time in past five years that the two brothers were not riding the Tour together.
Frank finished third during the Tour de France 2011 but even he could not get his guts together to make up for Team RadioShack-Nissan in absence of Andy.
In fact, Frank was tested positive during an in-competition test and was immediately removed from the race by Team General Manager, Johan Bruyneel and the final decision on the case is yet to be made.
Andy on the other hand, is hopeful to get the right form before the end of 2012 in order to start the new season on a high note.
"I'm very disappointed that I couldn't show anything so far this year,” Schleck noted earlier in September.
He further added, “This has been a dreadful season for me and I desperately want to put it behind me. I still hope to return to racing before the season ends".
The 2010 Tour de France winner will be accompanied by Matthew Busche, Laurent Didier, Ben Hermans, Gregory Rast, Jesse Sergent and Robert Wagner with Dirk Demol as directeur sportif for the Binche-Tournai-Binche.
However, Matthew Busche, Jakob Fuglsang, Hermans, Giacomo Nizzolo, Rast, Wagner and Oliver Zaug have been finalised Paris-Bourges on Thursday and for Paris-Tours on Sunday October 7 and Alain Gallopin will be managing the side for both the events.
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