Andy Schleck to relish role as 2011 Tour de France favourite
Luxembourgian rider Andy Schleck has said he will enjoy entering the 2011 Tour de France as the favourite to win the general classification.
Schleck, who left Saxo Bank to join the newly formed Luxembourg PRO Cycling Project at the end of the 2010 season, has finished second in the last two editions of the Tour.
Despite losing out to Astana's Alberto Contador for the second year running in July, the 25-year-old said he was happy with having narrowed the gap to the Spaniard to a mere 39 seconds.
"Last year I was second I was two minutes fifty but this year I was up there for the win," Schleck, who collected two stage wins at this year's race, told
Cyclingnews. "In 2009 I got to the final time trial and knew that I wasn’t going to pull any time back but this year was really exciting and so it was a whole different Tour for me.”
Schleck, who remains adamant that he will not retroactively accept the 2010 yellow jersey even if Contador is found guilty of using Clenbuterol during that race, said he was looking forward to entering the next edition of the Grand Boucle
as the overall favourite.
"I think I can go to next year's Tour as the favourite and that gives me confidence to achieve that goal, to win it. Since I started I've progressed every year and if I carry on that progression from this year to next year then I'll be the
favourite this year."
On 3 November, it was announced that the Luxembourg PRO Cycling Project had signed French climbing specialist Brice Feillu for 2011.
Feillu is expected to support Schleck and his older brother Frank at the Tour, whose hilly 2011 route should be well-suited to the Luxembourgian.
"I've already started training and I plan to have a better preparation than this year. If I look at the profile for the Tour it suits me perfectly and there's only one goal and that’s to win that race. That's the main big goal and that’s
what I'm working on."
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