A remarkable performance

Over the last two and a half weeks I have completely changed my opinion on Andy Schleck. Prior to this tour I thought of Andy as Frank's brother. They were a package deal. However when Frank lost control of his bike and broke his collarbone on the cobbles everything changed. As Frank lay on the side of the road Andy's wings took dreams. Spartacus powered across the cobbles with Andy in tow giving him an advantage of 30 seconds over his main rival. The ball was in his court at the Tour de France for the first time.

Without his brother by his side he continued to impress. In the Alps he launched a vicious attack during stage 8 that pushed his competitors to their limit (including a certain Spaniard) resulting in his first stage victory of this years Tour. He took yellow after the rest day on stage 9 by launching several attacks aimed at Mr. Fingerbang. Finally after trading attacks they called a truce and pushed the pace to the finish in order to put time into the rest of the field. He wore Yellow for 6 days losing the jersey due to a debatable attack from Mr. Fingerbang. It been discussed enough so I will leave it at that. (Photo: © Sirott)

So that left it to today, the queen stage with the finish atop the famed Col du Tourmalet. Everyone knew Andy needed to get at least a minute and a half in order to have a chance to wear yellow into Paris. Schleck left everything he had on the Tourmalet attacking with 10k of climbing remaining. He tried to ride Mr. Fingerbang off his wheel with countless accelerations. The Spaniard didn't flinch matching each of the accelerations, and finally countering with an acceleration of his own with about 4k to go. Schleck quickly closed the gap with about 3.5k, but his tank was empty. In a class move Mr. Fingerbang didn't contest a one up sprint with Schleck at the top of the Tourmalet, giving Schleck a unforgettable victory. (Photo: © Roberto Bettini www.cyclingnews.com)
 

Schleck's attacks up the Tourmalet were jaw dropping. As he rode through hoards of screaming fans in all sorts of costumes (I am partial to the banana, its classic) he continued to dish out pain by setting a brisk pace all the way to the line. He left everything he had on the mountain and after today I am a fan of Andy Schleck. (Photo: © Roberto Bettini www.cyclingnews.com)