Father of Schlecks says he’s counseling his two sons Frank and Andy to get out of pro cycling. Not get away from RadioShack, no, exit the whole entire show.
One could argue that for all intents and purposes Frank already is out of cycling. The Luxembourg Anti-Doping federation will render a judgement on the Tour de France positive very soon. Diuretic, flushed out of peloton.
The suspension could be six months but we’re guessing it’s at least a year. In a post-Reasoned Decision world, no federation can be seen as going easy or showing favoritism.
The nugget that stuck us here at Twisted Spoke was Johny Schleck telling French Newspaper Le Journal Du Dimanche that Frank was “depressed.” And no, it’s not about a lacking of time to go fishing.
That psychological assessment is very different from the rosy one that Frank handed out to the media a few days ago. After he and his legal team made their arguments to the Luxembourg federation, he said “I am very happy and have a good feeling.” Well, dad says depressed and that’s our vote, too.
Johny Schleck summed things up succinctly with a “This is not a life.” It certainly was not a season either son wants to repeat ever gain, one that went from bad to worse to horrific and painful. Andy cracked his pelvis and Franks pissed out a banned substance – troubles down there.
The disconnect between depressed and feeling good is a big one. But then, nothing tops Lance Armstrong for psychological misinformation.
Days after watching his cycling legend, perhaps the greatest story in sports, come crashing down in a pile of blood bags and syringes, the Boss pronounced himself “unaffected.” According to his twitter feed, he was home with the wife and kids and completely untouched by the damning testimony of 11 former members of his Postal and Discovery squads.
Turns out “unaffected” was not exactly the truth but then we now know that Armstrong is what his lawyers liked to call Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton – a “serial perjurer.”
A week later in Austin, Texas at the 15th anniversary celebration of the Livestrong Foundation, Armstrong admitted that the last few weeks had been “difficult.” Among his many talents, the Boss has a gift for understatement.
The word “difficult” will have to cover the loss of his seven Tour de France titles, his colossal fall from grace, the destruction of perhaps the greatest sports story of our time and the loss of tens of millions in sponsorship deals. The transition from inspiration to disgrace is a miserable one.
Still, there’s a nice interlock in the Schleck and Armstrong stories. This is not a life and this is not a legend.
[…] echoes of Frank and Andy Schleck’s dad who has apparently advised his sons to find a pro-cycling career alternative after the Pro-cycling train-wreck of the last few weeks. At the least, as you are entering […]