Fränk Schleck

Infobox Cyclist
ridername = Fränk Schleck

---

image_caption =
fullname = Fränk Schleck
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1980|4|15
country = LUX
height = height|m=1.86
weight = convert|67|kg|lb st|abbr=on|lk=on
currentteam = Team CSC
discipline = Road
role = Rider
ridertype = Climber/Classics Rider
amateuryears =
2000
2001
2002
2002
amateurteams = ACC Contern
De Nardi
Festina "(stagiaire)"
Chateauroux
Team CSC "(stagiaire)"
proyears = 2003–
proteams = Team CSC
majorwins = Amstel Gold Race (2006)
Tour de France, 1 stage (at Alpe d'Huez)
Tour de Suisse, 1 stage
LUX National Road Race Champion (2005, 2008)
updated = June 29, 2008

Fränk Schleck (born 15 April 1980) is a professional road bicycle racer from Luxembourg riding for Team CSC Saxo Bank. Before 2005, Schleck was joined by his younger brother Andy on Team CSC Saxo Bank, and they split the 2005 national championships between them, with Fränk winning the road race and Andy winning the time trial. Their father Johnny Schleck was also a road bicycle racer, professional between 1965 and 1974. Fränk's greatest achievements include winning a in the 2006 Tour de France which finished on the Alpe d'Huez, as well as the 2006 edition of the Amstel Gold Race classic.

Biography

After riding for the Luxembourg military sports programme, he moved to Italy to ride for De Nardi-Pasta Montegrappa. In 2001, he tried out as a stagiaire for Festina, but when the team folded after the season, Schleck was left with no contract. He contacted Team CSC manager Bjarne Riis through their common youth coach Marcel Gilles of the ACC Contern amateur team. [ [http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2005/interviews/?id=frank_schleck05 Flying high close to home] , "CyclingNews", December 1, 2005] Schleck rode 2002 as a stagiaire on Team CSC. He signed a pro contract in 2003, as Riis had a vacancy following a failed attempt to sign the former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich as well as Ullrich's helping riders. [ [http://www.csc.com/mms/cycling/en/ne/na/articleDetail.jsp?id=1404 Schleck: Ready for More in ‘06] , "CSC", October 21, 2005]

Schleck's breakthrough came in 2005, with three podium places in the last month of the season. He finished all three races behind Paolo Bettini (2004 Olympic Road Race winner) and Gilberto Simoni (two times Giro d'Italia winner), losing Züri-Metzgete to Bettini, the Giro dell'Emilia to Simoni, and finishing third behind both in the Giro di Lombardia. Schleck ended 2005 ranked 13th on the 2005 ProTour riders list. He extended his contract with Riis and Team CSC until 2008, one of three riders in the team with a three-year contract.

The 2006 season started with a fifth-place finish in Paris-Nice. After a crash in the Vuelta al País Vasco, he suffered a concussion. [ [http://www.team-csc.com/ny_news.asp?n_id=862 Schleck Crashes Out] , "Team-CSC", April 5, 2006] He made his comeback in the Amstel Gold Race that month. Sitting with the favorites with ten kilometers to go, Schleck broke away alone up the Cauberg in Valkenburg for a solo finish while team mate Karsten Kroon disrupted the chase. Three days later he finished 4th in La Flèche Wallonne after a vigorous ride up the Muur de Huy where Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde proved unbeatable. Schleck's form continued days later with the Liège-Bastogne-Liège race, where he rode at the front for much of the latter half and finished 7th. In the Tour de France, he won stage 15 from Gap to Alpe D'Huez, where he broke away from Damiano Cunego 1.5km from the finish.

He is known for the way he keeps his knees in while pedaling. He also rides a high cadence when climbing.

2007

Schleck had a solid start, taking 9th in Paris-Nice. In the Amstel Gold race, he crashed with 47km to go, eventually finishing 10th. His recovery continued at the Flèche Wallone where he finished 7th, but the day before Liège-Bastogne-Liège, it was announced that he had a fractured vertebra. He rode despite the injury and launched the decisive attack a few kilometers from the finish with Danilo di Luca. Di Luca attacked with one kilometer to go and Schleck faded to 3rd.

Schleck won the fourth stage of the Tour de Suisse, taking the yellow jersey; he eventually finished 7th. He could only manage 17th at the Tour de France but was part of the successful attack in the world championship, finishing fourth.

2008

In the Amstel Gold Race 2008 Schleck finished 2nd, behind Damiano Cunego of Italy. In Liege-Bastogne-Liege Fränk and his talented younger brother Andy Schleck put on a show. Only two riders were able to follow the two brothers when they attacked on the final hills of the day : Alejandro Valverde and Davide Rebellin. Andy had to let the other three riders go and finihed 4th. In the final sprint Fränk came 3rd, but he proved once again that he is one of the best riders in the world.In the Tour de Suisse Schleck crashed during a dangerous descent and fell in a ravine. Miraculously, he was mostly uninjured.A week later Schleck becomes national champion of Luxemburg for the second time in his career.In the Tour de France 2008 he came 3rd in the first mountain stage. This took him to 2nd place in the overall classification, only one second behind the yellow yersey. Eight days later Schleck took the Malliot Jaune and the lead in the Tour. At the end of the Tour he finished in 6th position overall.

Doping Allegations

On July 25, 2008, one day prior to a decisive penultimate stage of the Tour de France 2008, the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung first revealed an alleged contact between Schleck and the infamous Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes in December 2005, although authorities confirmed that none of the available evidence would support such claims. [ [http://www.sueddeutsche.de/sport/557/303552/text/ Schleck unter Verdacht] , Sueddeutsche Zeitung, July 25, 2008] The allegations in connection with Schleck followed a series of strong performances of the rider who wore the yellow jersey over several days and whose father's car had been the subject of a detailed search by French customs authorities during the Tour.

Prior to the 2008 UCI Road World Championships in Varese, Italy, on September 26, 2008, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung published a further article on the connections between Schleck and Fuentes after claiming to have seen evidence on a bank transfer of €7000 from Schleck to a Swiss bank account linked to Fuentes. The existence of the evidence was revealed by German police and subsequently confirmed by Luxembourg prosecutors. [ [http://www.sueddeutsche.de/sport/961/311881/text/ Schleck war Fuentes Kunde] , Sueddeutsche Zeitung, September 26, 2008]

Following Schleck's public admittance of such payment on October 3, 2008, Bjarne Riis and Team CSC decided to temporarily suspend Schleck from any further races until the outcome of the doping allegations towards Schleck has been fully clarified. [ [http://www.riis-cycling.com/ny_news.asp?n_id=2147 Press Release regarding Fränk Schleck] , Team CSC Saxo Bank, October 3, 2008]

Palmares

;2005: 13th - 2005 UCI ProTour individual standings: 7th Overall, Paris-Nice: 4th Overall, Tour de Suisse:: 2nd, : LUX National Road Race Championship: 2nd, Züri-Metzgete: 3rd, Giro di Lombardia;2006: 3rd - 2006 UCI ProTour individual standings: 1st, Amstel Gold Race: 10th Overall, Tour de France ::1st, Stage 15: Gap - L'Alpe-d'Huez;2007: 1st, Stage 4, Tour de Suisse: 1st, Giro dell'Emilia: 2nd, Coppa Sabatini: 3rd, Liège-Bastogne-Liège;2008: 2nd, Amstel Gold Race: 3rd, Liège-Bastogne-Liège: LUX National Road Race Championship: 6th Overall, Tour de France:: 7th, Stage 1:: 4th, Stage 6:: 3rd, Stage 10:: 9th, Stage 15:: 5th, Stage 17:: 1st, General Classification after Stages 15-16

References

External links

* [http://www.schleck.lu/ Fanclub for the Schleck brothers] .
* [http://www.team-csc.com/person_profiles.asp?p_id=17 Team CSC profile]
* [http://www.cyclingpost.com/profiles/csc/article_001245.shtml Fränk Schleck profile]

s-ttl|title=Luxembourgian Sportsman of the Year
years=2006

Persondata
NAME= Schleck, Fränk
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Road bicycle racer
DATE OF BIRTH= 1980-04-15
PLACE OF BIRTH=Luxembourg
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=