Schleck brothers to target Ardennes Classics and Tour

The Schleck brothers' racing calendar for 2010 has been announced today, with Saxo Bank Directeur Sportif Kim Andersen confirming to Luxembourg newspaper Le Quotidian that neither brother will compete in Ronde van Vlaanderen.

The two brothers will ride together for much, but not all of the season. They will start together at the Trofeo Mallorca (February 7-11) before moving on to the Ruta del Sol (February 21-25). At that point they will separate, with Andy going to the Monte Paschi Eroica (March 6) and Tirreno-Adriatico (March 10-16). Fränk will take on Paris-Nice (March 7-13), where he finished second overall in 2009.

The brothers will reunite in March for Milano-Sanremo (March 20) before parting ways again.

Fränk will ride the Volta a Catalunya (March 22-28), while Andy will take on three races to get used to the cobblestones he will experience on the third stage of the Tour de France: Dwars door Vlaanderen (March 24), E3 Prijs Vlaanderen (March 27) and Gent-Wevelgem (March 28).

For the first time, neither of them will ride the Criterium International, Saxo Bank Directeur Sportif Kim Andersen told Le Quotidian. Andersen also confirmed that a draft schedule that had included the Ronde van Vlaanderen had been replaced by today's final programme, with both riders to skip the Belgian Classic. Andy will instead head to Spain for the Vuelta al Pais Vasco (April 5-10).

From there, the brothers will take on their first major season objectives, the Ardennes Classics: Amstel Gold Race (April 18), Flèche Wallonne (April 21) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (April 25).

In the further lead up to the Tour de France, Andy will head to the US and the Tour of California (May 16-23), while Fränk will ride his homeland race, the Tour of Luxembourg (June 2-6). Together they will take on the Tour de Suisse (June 12-20) before going to the Tour de France (July 3-25).

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