Fränk Schleck

Fränk Schleck
Personal information
Full name	Fränk Schleck
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	67 kg (148 lb; 10.6 st)
Team information
Current team	Team CSC
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Climber/Classics Rider
Major wins
	Amstel Gold Race (2006); Tour de France, 1 stage (at Alpe d'Huez); Tour de Suisse, 1 stage; Luxembourg National Road Race Champion (2005, 2008)

Fränk Schleck (pronounced Frank Shlak) (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 Schleck 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 a tough mountain stage in the 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.^[1] 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.^[2]

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.^[3] 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.