Andy Schleck starts season in Mallorca
Saxo Bank | February 5, 2010
Andy Schleck is on the Spanish holiday island of Mallorca, but thinking about work and the start of his season in two days. He forms part of the Saxo Bank team for the five-day Mallorca Challenge.
"It's a beautiful race and I'd like to do it in shape," Schleck said. "The Spanish guys are motivated for it and they are ready. They can train differently and some of them ended [last] season earlier.
"I don't know where I am with my shape, but I think I it is coming along well."
The Mallorca Challenge is unique in cycling in that it allows for teams to switch out their riders from day to day. But, the winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège and runner up in the Tour de France does not have any big aspirations.
"I am not going to win this race, so I use it as training, though," he said. "I will do the first two days, I will take a rest day and then race the last two days."
Schleck arrived early in Mallorca, leaving his home in Luxembourg to escape the snow and bad weather. However, he and his brother Fränk did not find the sun and warm weather they had hoped for.
"The weather is good compared to Luxembourg, but not so great compared to what we had at the Fuerteventura camp. It's okay, you can ride your bike a lot of hours and do a lot of intervals but it is sometimes shitty when you are going down hills or on the flats with a hard, cold wind."
Yesterday, Schleck took a day off due to rain and today, he starts an intensive three-day block of training ahead of the Mallorca Challenge. His first goal comes in two months time, the Amstel Gold, April 18.
