Schleck's Last Hurrah
The 2011 Tour de France has just rolled into Pinerolo, Italy, with the Norweigian Edvald Boasson Hagen taking his second stage win of that year's Tour de France. Thomas Voeckler of Team Europcar is still clinging on as race leader, although the Galibier awaits him the next day.
Andy Schleck lies fourth place, over two and a half minutes down, but the younger Schleck brother has hatched a plan. A plan reminiscent of the lone attacks from the days of Merckx, Coppi and Anquetil, a plan ridiculed by his teammate and friend Stuart O'Grady.
Stage eighteen had the highest finish of that year's Tour, and the highest since the race began, so it was a fitting setting for Andy Schleck's last big dig to win the race. And so, with teammates Joost Posthuma and Maxime Monfort up the road, Andy Schleck attacked on the Col d'Izoard.
By the top of the climb, Schleck, who had prompted bemusement on the acceleration, had two minutes, and he continued to gain time over the poorly-coordinated group of remaining favourites. At its biggest, his lead was over four and a half minutes, with Cadel Evans leading the chase behind.
Schleck's unlikely attack actually managed to succeed, and Frank Schleck was the next favourite to finish at two minutes and seven seconds. Schleck ended the day just fifteen seconds behind Thomas Voeckler, and after l'Alpe d'Huez a day later, wore the maillot jaune.
It wasn't to be for Schleck however, he was overhauled by Australian Cadel Evans in the final time trial, and it was the last time we would see the lanky Luxembourger at the top end of a race again. In 2012, he fell out with team boss Johan Bruyneel and struggled in races, until the Criterium du Dauphine, where he crashed in the time trial, breaking his pelvis.
He made several attempts to come back, but his best Tour finish was 20th, and at the end of this year, he called a press conference. It was to no surprise of the cycling world that the 29 year old announced his retirement from professional cycling.
The 2011 race turned out to be Schleck's last hurrah, and although on paper he is now a Tour de France winner, after Alberto Contador was stripped of his 2010 title, Andy Schleck never achieved his dream of winning a Tour de France on the road.
Although the end of his career was a disappointing one, it would be unfair to dismiss Andy Schleck to the annals of cycling history. He will go down as a great rider, a rider that won Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and finished on the podium of both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France.
His last win as a professional was one of the most impressive performances in a Tour de France stage in years, and really was a spectacular last hurrah.