Frank Schleck out of Tour de France due to knee injury
Tuesday 23 June 2015 15:25, UK
Trek Factory Racing rider Frank Schleck will miss next month's Tour de France as he continues to battle a knee injury.
Luxembourg’s Schleck, older brother of 2010 Tour winner Andy, has been struggling since crashing in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race earlier in the season.
The 35-year-old sat out the closing time trial at the Tour de Switzerland last week in a bid to air his recovery but he has decided he will not be fit in time for the start of the annual showpiece on Saturday, July 4.
“This is a big disappointment for me, of course, but it had been in the air for a while now”, Schleck told his team’s official website.
“The pain never really lessened and the only way to let it heal would have been to take complete rest. It was a catch-22: if I wanted to make the Tour team, I had to rest.
“I needed to take a break in the preparation to let the knee heal. But if I wanted to be fit for the Tour, I needed to train hard.
“The knee wasn’t getting any better during the Tour de Suisse, despite daily treatments and all of us hoping for a miracle.
“We took the decision together and I think it’s correct. I can’t push it for 21 days straight and hope to make it to Paris. What I need is rest. I’ll take at least two weeks off and give the knee time to heal.
“Not being at the Tour, it’s a big thing for me. The Tour is the race I love the most, despite that it’s three weeks of stress.
“I made a lot of sacrifices, we did a recon of the key stages. It’s disappointing not to be able to race there and fight for the team’s goals.”
It remains unclear when Schleck will be fit enough to return to action, although he could be back for the Tour of Spain which gets under way on August 22.
