Frank Schleck started training for the new season
After having a disappointed season, Frank Schleck joins Team RadioShack-Nissan’s in its first meeting for the 2013 season.
The cyclist was tested positive during the Tour de France 2012 and the final decision on his case is yet to be made.
Frank had a slow season and his only two admirable performances in the current season include a second overall finish at the Tour de Suisse along with a third overall position at the Tour de Luxembourg 2012.
"I would first like to thank ALAD, they gave me the opportunity to have my testimony heard,” Schleck said earlier in October.
“We gave our extensive dossier to the appropriate authorities a week ago, and now we have to give them the necessary time to reach a verdict”.
"I am very happy and have a good feeling. We put a lot of time and energy into preparing our defence,” Frank concluded.
However, Dr. Anik Sax of the ALAD Board of Directors told the Luxembourg newspaper Point 24, “We must wait for the decision of the Disciplinary Committee, No appointment has yet been made for the next meeting, much less for a decision”.
Team RadioShack-Nissan had a difficult past season and despite being one of the best sides on paper, it could not manage a top-10 spot at the 2012 UCI World Tour team’s rankings of the season.
The team claimed a total number of 134 UCI points throughout the season with Fabian Cancellara (134 points), Chris Horner (120 points), Haimar Zubeldia (94 points), Tiago Machado (92 points) and Frank Schleck (89 points) making the major contributions with
12th overall position.
The below par performance has raised suspicions on the team’s World Tour licence for the season ahead.
UCI has already announced the first eight World Tour teams for the 2013 season and Team RadioShack-Nissan has failed to make it through.
The eight teams include, Team Astana, Team BMC, Team Cannondale, Team Lampre-Merida, Team Omega Pharma-Quick Step, Team Orica-GreenEdge, Team Sky and Team Vacansoleil DCM.
The Luxembourg team does have an existing licence but it has to appear before the UCI Licensing Commission along with Team Movistar and Team Katusha for further examination.
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