Andy and Frank Schleck suffered from each other's absences during 2010
Former Saxo Bank riders Andy and Frank Schleck have said that their 2010 seasons would have turned out differently if both riders had completed the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana.
Andy, runner-up in the past two editions of the Tour, finished 39 seconds behind Alberto Contador in this year's race.
Many have argued that Contador's victory would not have been possible if he hadn't attacked his rival after the latter's chain fell off in the 15th stage of the race, but Andy himself said his older brother's absence was the reason he failed to claim the
title this year.
"Everybody asks me when and where I lost the Tour," Schleck told French daily
L'Equipe, adding that his hopes of winning were ended when Frank crashed on the cobbles of the third stage.
"I know when-it was right when [Frank] abandoned the Tour after four days. From then on, I didn’t succeed in sparing myself, in preserving my freshness like I would have done with [him] at my side. It’s hard to think about it again, because I should have
won that Tour."
Frank, a climber and classics specialist who is known to provide crucial support for his younger brother, also said he suffered from Andy's expulsion at the Vuelta a Espana in September.
Andy was sent home by Saxo Bank manager Bjarne Riis after he and Stuart O'Grady broke the team's curfew.
"[Riis] is responsible for the image of the team and we’ve always respected him for that," said Frank, who ended up finishing fifth in the overall standings of the race. "But his decision to exclude Andy and O’Grady wasn’t right in so much as it handicapped
me afterwards. I was left without help."
Frank also revealed that had he been present, he would have advised Andy against the attack that led to his chain malfunction at the Tour.
"It wasn’t very wise to attack at that moment. If I had been at his side, [Andy] would never have acted like that."
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