Schleck at the Worlds (Image credit: Shane Stokes)
Fränk Schleck demonstrated that his form is on target for the end of the season when he made the elite five-man selection at the World Championships. The 27 year-old of Team CSC is determined to push on through the end of 2007 for one of his three favourite Classics, the Giro di Lombardia. Gregor Brown of Cyclingnews spoke with the Luxemburger in Stuttgart, Germany, prior to his fourth place finish.
In 2005 Schleck helped put Luxembourg on the map when he rocketed away from all the favourites in the 2006 Amstel Gold Race while wearing his national championship jersey. By leaving riders like Bettini, Boogerd and Rebellin behind with 10 kilometres to go, he also put himself on cycling's map as a marked rider in the Classics.
That win as well as his Tour de France stage win at l'Alpe d'Huez would have been hard to top in 2007, but while Schleck has just one win this season, a stage of the Tour de Suisse, he's a strong favourite for the final race of the season, the Giro di Lombardia. Should he succeed in winning the 'race of the falling leaves', he will have bagged two of his three favourite Classics, with only Liège-Bastogne-Liège missing from his palmares.
Schleck showed that he has the form to tackle the season finale in Lombardia this Saturday with a strong performance at Worlds, where he made the final move but just missed the podium.
"My morale is good because I have always wanted to ride a very good season finale, especially the Lombardia race," to Cyclingnews on a cool German morning as the rain beat down and the elite men were prepping for the Worlds Time Trial. Finishing the year strong is a high priority for the 27 year-old. "I like to finish my season with a good result and in good shape so I can really enjoy my winter. It is a lot easier for me to go into the winter with a nice result instead of just finishing the season with decent shape. If I would finish with good form I will be very satisfied with myself and I can really, really enjoy my winter."
