Frank Schleck is ready to take on 100 kilometres of time trialing at the Tour de France 2012
The Luxembourg cyclist, Frank Schleck of Team Leopard Trek, showed interest in taking part in the Tour de France 2012. Frank, along with his brother, Andy Schleck, attended the Tour de France 2012 presentation ceremony in Paris on October 18.
Frank Schleck finished third at the Tour this year with 1 minute and 36 seconds behind his brother, Andy Schleck, also with Team Leopard Trek, and 2:30 behind the race leader, Cadel Evans, of Team BMC.
The 2012 route includes 20 stages with fewer mountain top stages than its prior edition. However, the route includes three summit finishes and two long-time trials.
It is said that the winner of the 2012 Tour de France has to be a more versatile rider than all its previous editions.
The Schleck brothers were brilliant during the tour this year as they both occupied podium positions.
Frank stated, "We've finished second and third last year and that was great for the team and for Luxembourg and the Schlecks. We'd never done that. We still have one space left towards the top and we should play those cards. The Tour is still the biggest
ambition".
Frank Schleck believes that fewer mountains also mean that there will be more climbs.
The cyclists were tested on 23 climbs during Tour de France 2011 but now they will have to ride across 25 climbs in the coming season.
One worry for the Schlecks will be the time trial as it is one aspect of their game that needs improvement.
The route for Tour de France 2012 also revealed that the time trial distance is increased by almost 35 kilometres.
The cyclists will be tested with their time trial abilities over a distance of almost 100 kilometres that is much longer as compared to the previous year’s 65 kilometres.
Frank mentioned that he had a very strong team but there was still room for improvement. He stated that the team was working together and that they were positive about the Tour de France 2012.
It will be interesting to see how the Schleck brothers take on the 2012 season. Both the cyclists will be representing a new team, RadioShack-Nissan-Trek, in 2012.
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