Frank Schleck made the podium at the Coppa Sabatini earlier this month but not the Giro di Lombardia (Image credit: Sirotti)
Just before the final climb, Team CSC's Fränk Schleck saw his hopes for the Giro di Lombardia win come crashing down when he hit the pavement. On the last bit of flat heading towards the shores of Lago di Como and the punch of San Fermo, Schleck hooked wheels with Vladimir Gusev (Discovery Chanel Pro Cycling Team) in a moment of inattention. He was sent sprawling over the pavement as the race rode away from him.
"It was my own fault and of course I'm really upset about what happened," said Schleck after the race according to team-csc.com. Sometimes you end up crashing - that's the name of the game. Everyone could see that we had the strongest team and I definitely had a realistic chance of winning. But it wasn't meant to happen, I guess. At least Andy was strong out there today and got a great result."
"It was too bad," said his brother Andy after the race. Fränk gave Andy a hug, while looking down at his right elbow, disappointed. "I was very close," said Fränk. "We were going well; I felt good, but oh well." Fortunately, Schleck's bad luck was offset somewhat by the performance of his brother Andy, who finished fourth for Team CSC.
"For most of the day we managed to control the race the way we'd planned, so it's a big shame that Fränk crashed like that at the end," said Team Director Bjarne Riis on team-csc.com. "Our plan was to make the race as tough as possible and at the same time have several potentials for the victory in the end. We succeeded, but without Fränk it was difficult to finish the job. You can't plan against that sort of thing." Riis added that praise for the team for a good showing in the classic Italian race.
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