Andy Schleck facts for kids
Schleck at the 2013 Tour de Suisse
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| Personal information | |||
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| Full name | Andy Raymond Schleck | ||
| Born | 10 June 1985 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg |
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| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Weight | 68 kg (150 lb; 10 st 10 lb) | ||
| Team information | |||
| Current team | Retired | ||
| Discipline | Road | ||
| Role | Rider | ||
| Rider type | Climber | ||
| Major wins | |||
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Andy Raymond Schleck (born June 10, 1985) is a famous former professional road bicycle racer from Luxembourg. He is best known for winning the 2010 Tour de France, one of the biggest cycling races in the world. He was officially given this title in February 2012. Andy also finished second in the Tour de France two other times, in 2009 and 2011.
Andy comes from a family of cyclists. His older brother, Fränk Schleck, was also a professional rider. Their father, Johny Schleck, rode in the Tour de France and Vuelta a España during his own career.
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Andy Schleck's Early Life and Family
Andy Schleck was born in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. He is the youngest of three sons born to Gaby and Johny Schleck. His older brother, Fränk Schleck, also became a professional cyclist. Their oldest brother, Steve Schleck, is involved in politics in Luxembourg.
Andy's father, Johny Schleck, was a professional cyclist too. He rode in the Tour de France to help famous winners like Jan Janssen and Luis Ocaña. Johny also finished in the top 20 twice in the Tour de France. He won a stage in the 1970 Vuelta a España and the Luxembourg National Championships. Andy's grandfather, Gustav Schleck, also competed in cycling events in the 1930s.
Andy's Cycling Journey
Starting as an Amateur Cyclist
Andy Schleck joined the VC Roubaix cycling club in 2004. He quickly caught the eye of Cyrille Guimard, a famous sports director. Guimard had worked with many Tour de France winners, including Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond. Guimard thought Andy was one of the most talented riders he had ever seen. He even compared him to another great cyclist, Laurent Fignon.
While still an amateur, Andy won the Flèche du Sud stage race in 2004 when he was just 18. News of his talent reached Bjarne Riis, the manager of the Danish Team CSC. Riis asked Fränk, who was already on Team CSC, about his younger brother. Andy then joined Team CSC as a trainee on September 1, 2004.
Professional Career with Team CSC (2005–2010)
Early Years and First Successes
Andy Schleck signed his first professional contract with Team CSC in 2005. He made his debut in a big ProTour race at only 19 years old. In 2005, he and his brother Fränk both won national championships. Fränk won the road race, and Andy won the individual time trial.
In 2006, Andy had a crash and took a break from racing. He returned later that year and won a major mountain stage in the Sachsen Tour. He also won the final stage of that race.
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In 2007, Andy showed his climbing skills in the Giro d'Italia. He won the young rider classification and finished second overall. He also placed fourth in the Giro di Lombardia, helping his brother Fränk.
In 2008, Schleck finished fourth in the Liège–Bastogne–Liège race. He then rode in the Tour de France, finishing 12th overall. He won the young rider classification again. He also helped his team, CSC, win the team classification and his teammate, Carlos Sastre, win the yellow jersey.
2009: A Big Win and Tour de France Podium
In 2009, Andy achieved a huge victory by winning Liège–Bastogne–Liège. He was the first rider from Luxembourg to win this race since 1954. A few days before, he had finished second in another important race, La Flèche Wallonne.
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In the Tour de France that year, he finished second overall, behind Alberto Contador. He also won the young rider classification for the second time.
2010: Tour de France Champion
The 2010 Tour de France was a very close race for Andy. He finished second to Alberto Contador by only 39 seconds. He won the young rider classification for the third time in a row.
During stage 15, while Andy was wearing the yellow jersey, his bike chain fell off. His main rival, Alberto Contador, continued to ride ahead. This caused some debate about sportsmanship. Andy lost 39 seconds on that stage, which was the exact time difference he lost the Tour by.
In February 2012, after a legal decision, Andy Schleck was officially awarded the 2010 Tour de France title. He became only the second rider ever to win the white jersey for best young rider three times. He also won two mountain stages and wore the yellow jersey for six days.
Moving to Leopard Trek (2011–2014)
In July 2010, Andy and his brother Fränk announced they would leave Team Saxo Bank. They started a new team based in Luxembourg, called Leopard Trek.
2011: Another Strong Tour de France
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In April 2011, Schleck finished third in Liège–Bastogne–Liège. He then won the mountains classification in the Tour de Suisse. In the Tour de France, Andy started slowly but moved up in the mountains. He won the tough 18th stage with a long solo ride up the Col du Galibier. The next day, he took the yellow jersey. However, he lost it to Cadel Evans in the final time trial. Andy finished second overall again. His brother, Fränk, also made it to the podium, making them the first brothers to both finish on the Tour de France podium.
2012: Injuries and Challenges
For the 2012 season, Leopard Trek merged with another team to form RadioShack–Nissan. Andy was officially awarded the 2010 Tour de France win in his home country of Luxembourg in May.
However, Andy faced challenges in 2012. He crashed during a race and injured his knee and sacrum (a bone in his lower back). This injury meant he could not start the Tour de France. He tried to make a comeback later that year in the Tour of Beijing.
2013: Working to Return to Form
Schleck competed in the 2013 Tour Down Under but had to stop early. He continued to struggle with injuries and withdrew from several races. However, he managed to finish some races, including the Critérium International and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. He rode the 2013 Tour de Suisse to prepare for the Tour de France. He finished 20th in the Tour de France, which was his best result of the season.
Retirement from Cycling
Andy Schleck had to leave the 2014 Tour de France because of injuries from a crash during stage three.
In October 2014, Andy announced he was retiring from professional cycling. He said his knee injury made it impossible to continue racing at the highest level. In March 2015, Andy shared plans to open a bike shop and café in Itzig, Luxembourg. The shop opened in February 2016 and also has a small museum with souvenirs from his racing career.
Career Highlights
Andy Schleck had a remarkable career with many achievements. Here are some of his major results:
- 2004: Won the Flèche du Sud (Overall)
- 2005: Won the National Time Trial Championships
- 2007: Finished 2nd Overall in the Giro d'Italia and won the Young Rider Classification
- 2008: Won the Young Rider Classification in the Tour de France
- 2009: Won Liège–Bastogne–Liège and finished 2nd Overall in the Tour de France, winning the Young Rider Classification again
- 2010: Won the Tour de France (Overall) and the Young Rider Classification for the third time. He also won two stages in the Tour de France.
- 2011: Finished 2nd Overall in the Tour de France and won a stage.
Images for kids
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Schleck's signed Yellow Jersey from 2011
See also
In Spanish: Andy Schleck para niños
