He had not completed a race since Liège-Bastogne-Liège last April and h💯ad struggled to make a comeback since fracturing his pelvis during the time trial stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné in early June. The Luxembourger returned to racing🐬 at the Tour of Beijing in October, but dropped out on the fifth stage. In the 2013 season he has failed to finish the Tour Down Under as well as the Tour Méditerranéen.
Before the start of the GP di Camaiore, new team manager Luca Guercilena, who replaced the ousted 🐷Johan Bruyneel, indicated that Schleck has been struggling psychologically after his injury, the suspension of brother Fränk for doping, and ไthe consequent lack of motivation and desire to train.
Schleck was never in the thick of the action at the GP di Camaiore and was dropped onꦦ the three-kilometre Monte P൩itore climb one and a half laps from the finish. However, he received praise and satisfied pats on the back from Guercilena afterwards.
"Honestly I'm quite satisfied. It was a hard race and we worked for the other guys. It's good for my confidence and for the upcoming races," Schleck told Cyclingnews before ridဣing back to h♋is hotel with several teammates.
"Todღay was harder than everybody expected because we had to chase the break hard after they got a thi🔯rteen-minute lead. The finishing circuit is also hard and it was a nervous race."
Ba♚rring problems, Schleck will ride the Strade Bianche race on Saturday and then stay in Italy for Tirreno-Adri♚atico. He is hopeful that his form, his luck and his season are finally turning around.
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"I spent ten days in Mallorca getting in the kilometres. I did five, six and six and a half hour rides. I'm missing a bit of freshness now but I've got time to rest up before Strade Bianche and then Tirreno-Adriatico, so my form will come around that bit more."
Stephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
