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Andy Schleck pavé tested, I am confident

Oct 20, 2009
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<p>Andy Schleck aims to win the Tour de France in the Alps and Pyrenees, but he has to make it through the first week beforehand. He will face a windy stage one, a stage in the Ardennes and, the most dangerous of the opening stages, the pavé of Paris-Roubaix.</p><p>
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"It will be a dangerous stage, you can lose a lot of time in a crash or with a flat in the last 50 kilometres," Schleck explained. "This is why I went to see the cobbles."</p><p>
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Team Saxo Bank's Schleck is made for the climbs with his light body build, which helped him win Liège-Bastogne-Liège and finish second overall at the Tour de France last year. </p><p>
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A crash or a flat has the potential to spoil his Tour de France, or at least put him on the back foot heading into the Alps next Sunday. How will he survive the stage? He will rely on his team, which counts for three Paris-Roubaix titles with Fabian Cancellara (2006, 2010) and Stuart O'Grady (2007).</p><p>
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"I am confident, I have the best team for this type of parcours," continued Schleck. "We have only one goal for that day: riding at the front together."</p><p>
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Schleck's other secret weapon is his S-Works Roubaix SL3. Cancellara helped test the frame during Paris-Roubaix and Andy and his brother, Fränk, are going to reap the benefits of Cancellara's work.</p><p>
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"It will be a special bike for me for the pavé," explained Andy Schleck. "I feel very safe and good on it."</p><p>
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Schleck rode the bike when he previewed the pavé stage with his eight team-mates yesterday. The stage covers six sectors of some of the worst roads in northern France, in total 13.2 kilometres of pavé. The last sector leaves only seven kilometres to race to the finish in Arenberg – a short amount of time to return to the main bunch should disaster strike.</p><p>
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Besides Saxo Bank, other teams and their leaders were out previewing the stage yesterday, including Liquigas with Ivan Basso and Sky with Bradley Wiggins. Two-time Tour winner, Alberto Contador already previewed the stage with his Astana team-mates in April, after Liège-Bastogne-Liège.</p><p>
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The Tour de France begins Saturday in Rotterdam with an 8.9-kilometre prologue. Cancellara is favoured to win and take his 15th yellow jersey.</p>

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