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| Manager | Brian Nygaard[N 1] | ||
| One-day victories | 4 | ||
| Stage race overall victories | 2 | ||
| Stage race stage victories | 16 | ||
| Next season | |||
The 2011 season for Leopard Trek (pronounced /ˈleɪoʊpɑrd trɛk/), its first, began in January at the Tour Down Under and ended in October at the Giro di Lombardia. As a UCI ProTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every race in the UCI World Tour. The team formed for 2011 as a Luxembourgian national project and boasts that nation's two premier riders, Andy and Fränk Schleck. Several riders from the Schleck brothers' former Team Saxo Bank joined the new team.
The team was built for strong showings in the classic cycle races, and includes the best classics rider from the 2010 season, world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara. Though Cancellara did not win any race that awarded points to the UCI World Tour, he consistently placed highly enough that he was briefly the world number one rider in the midst of the classics season. Thanks to Cancellara's performances and the Schleck brothers both finishing on the podium at Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the team was also in the top spot for a time.
Team member Wouter Weylandt died after crashing during stage 3 of the Giro d'Italia, leading to the team's mass withdrawal the next day. Though he won a stage with a long solo breakaway in the mountains, and wore the race leader's yellow jersey for a day, Andy Schleck was runner-up at the Tour de France for the third consecutive year. Brother Fränk joined him on the podium in third place.
The team won its final race under the Leopard name, with Oliver Zaugg finishing first at the Giro di Lombardia. For 2012, the team was set to merge with the American Team RadioShack, under the new name RadioShack-Nissan-Trek. Though most of that team's management and sponsors were to come on board, the resultant squad continued to be based in Luxembourg under the same license, meaning it is a continuation of this franchise and not the American one.
Contents |
Ages as of January 1, 2011.
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Klemme got the team's first-ever win early in the spring season, at Le Samyn. After a solo escapee was caught by an elite 12-rider group that came clear of the peloton, Klemme timed his attack on the day's final climb with precision and stayed out front for victory by eight seconds over Kevyn Ista.[17] The team came to the first monument race of the season, Milan – San Remo, with high ambitions. Cancellara aimed for a second triumph in the race, having previously won the 2008 edition, but he recognized that slipping away unmarked in the race's final kilometers as he did three years prior would be difficult to do again. He considered Philippe Gilbert to be his principal rival for the race.[18] Cancellara and O'Grady made the day's major selection on the Le Manie climb, after a crash 90 km (56 mi) from the finish. O'Grady hit out on the attack a few times shortly before the end of the race, but it was Cancellara who was present in an eight-rider group that formed on the Poggio which decided the race. These eight riders represented eight different teams, so no one was able to get a proper leadout. After Gilbert, Vincenzo Nibali, and Yoann Offredo opened up the sprint, Cancellara tried to come around them for the win, but was beaten at the line by HTC-Highroad's Matthew Goss.[19] Cancellara was deeply disappointed to finish second, feeling that even though he had done one of the best sprints of his life, he had not done adequately to pay off his team's efforts on the day.[20]
Cancellara was noticeably still recovering from his Milan – San Remo effort at Dwars door Vlaanderen, where he tried to attack for victory in the finale, but faded quickly and finished only 36th.[21] The squad's best-placed rider was Posthuma in 31st.[22] Cancellara's recovery was perhaps complete at the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen – Harelbeke. After a series of mechanical incidents, resulting in several wheel changes and then a whole bike change, Cancellara sped past the trailing peloton on the Oude Kwaremont climb and effortlessly bridged to the front of the race. Once there, he left even the front group on the road well behind him, winning the race by a full minute over second placed Vladimir Gusev. Cancellara said he was more impressed with this victory than when he won the same race in 2010, and analysis of his win suggested he stood as the odds-on favorite for the Tour of Flanders.[23] Jonathan Vaughters, whose Garmin-Cervélo team had effectively controlled the front of the race but were powerless to stop Cancellara, stated that should an on-form Cancellara ever get even five seconds' advantage at the front of a race near the end, he would likely not be seen again. Vaughters joked that rival teams would need a sniper to stop the Swiss classics specialist.[24]
Cancellara's pedigree, 2011 successes, and status as defending champion made him a major favorite for the second monument race, the Tour of Flanders.[25][26] Cancellara put in a seemingly decisive move from the head of the main field on the Leberg, the fourteenth cobbled climb on the day's parcours. He quickly opened up a time gap of over a minute, and the race seemed to be decided. He cracked on the Muur van Geraardsbergen, however, and was swept up by an elite leading group of favorites and contenders. He put in a second acceleration on the last climb, the Bosberg, and was followed by Sylvain Chavanel and Nick Nuyens. Having perhaps spent himself too early in the race by attacking solo and not working with other riders to gain a large time gap,[27] Cancellara could only manage third of the three.[28] After the race, Cancellara blasted Nuyens and the other riders in the race, saying they only rode to keep him from winning. He referred to himself as a "gladiator" and said that the manner in which Nuyens won, staying in Cancellara's slipstream and then outsprinting him with the line in view, had no value in his eyes.[29]
Cancellara was again thought to be the odds-on favorite at the next monument classic, Paris–Roubaix.[30] After an aggressive first two hours of racing kept any breakaway groups from going clear, a leading group of 21 slowly formed between the start of the cobbles and the Arenberg sector. They took a maximum advantage of two and a half minutes. The second group on the road gradually whittled itself down to a select group of top favorites. Cancellara tried several times to accelerate out of this group to bridge to the front of the race. Thor Hushovd, Alessandro Ballan, and Juan Antonio Flecha marked his moves, but did not contribute any work, instead simply holding Cancellara's wheel. Eventually, Cancellara decided against towing the superior sprinter Hushovd to the front of the race with him, and for a while forewent further attacks. During this time, the leaders' time gap held steady at about 90 seconds for many kilometers. Right about the time that Johan Vansummeren attacked from the leading group and got free to occupy first position on the road, with 15 km (9.3 mi) left to race, Cancellara did likewise out of the group of favorites, putting in easily his most intensive pull. Only Hushovd and Ballan could follow, and they stormed past the remnants of the earlier breakaway, with the exception of Vansummeren who remained out front for victory. Cancellara bested Maarten Tjallingii and Grégory Rast in a sprint for second place 19 seconds back of the Belgian.[31] Cancellara again rued after the race that everyone had marked him and only him. He claimed that the non-cooperation of riders like Hushovd and Ballan had meant victory for him was not possible, and so second place for him was like a victory that day.[32] Vaughters commented that Cancellara was indeed the strongest single rider in the race, but his squad had been the strongest team, which was why they won.[33] Cancellara was also badly isolated from his teammates as a result of his rivals' tactics and his teammates' lesser form. The only other Leopard Trek rider after to finish the race was Mortensen in 94th, almost 14 minutes down.[34] Cancellara's ride was not entirely without reward, as it was after Paris–Roubaix that he attained the UCI world number one ranking, thanks mostly to his three podium finishes at the monuments.[35]
Cancellara was not considered to be a favorite for the Amstel Gold Race, though he was part of the strong squad that the Leopard Trek team brought to the race. Sporting director Kim Andersen stated the race was more of a goal for one of the Schleck brothers.[36] Cancellara commented that he felt "free as a bird" in the Amstel, riding it for the first time since 2004, and that he was not under pressure to get a result. He identified Philippe Gilbert as the main favorite for the race, and promised not to ride against him as he felt his rivals had done to him in the cobbled classics.[37] The race took place two days after Fränk Schleck's 30th birthday, further intensifying it as a goal for him.[38] Cancellara and both Schleck brothers effectively stayed at the front of the race most of the day, but Cancellara and Fränk Schleck lost contact after crashing on the Gulperberg 28 km (17 mi) from the finish. This left Andy Schleck alone to fend for victory, and his tactic was a solo attack launched from 12 km (7.5 mi) out, on the Keutenberg. The tactic was nearly successful, as the younger Schleck brother occupied first position on the road with only 500 m (1,600 ft) left to race, but a chase pack led by Gilbert overhauled him at that point. Visibly spent from his solo effort, Schleck had nothing left for the finale and finished 11th, 28 seconds down on race winner Gilbert. He stated after the race that he was satisfied with his effort, feeling that going for the win from so far out was his only play for victory without any teammates in the front group. He may have finished a few positions higher if he had stayed with the Gilbert group, but he almost certainly would have had no chance for victory against the fast finisher Gilbert; thus, the solo attack was the correct move in his eyes, since his only ambition was victory.[39][40]
The Schleck brothers were again the squad leaders for the remaining Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Pre-race analyses mentioned them as contenders for both races.[41][42] At La Flèche Wallonne, Andy Schleck worked for brother Fränk, taking pulls at the front of the main field to help chase down the morning breakaway. He did not feel physically up to riding for the win.[43] Fränk was able to ride at the front of the race all day, and made the selections up to the race-concluding Mur de Huy. Philippe Gilbert made an early attack on the Mur and held on to win – Fränk was seventh, six seconds back.[44] Both brothers rode well at Liège–Bastogne–Liège. On the Côte de Roche aux Faucons, 20 km (12 mi) from the end of the race, they both surged clear of the group of race favorites. Gilbert marked them, and stayed in their slipstreams as the trio surged to the front of the race. Later, the Belgian also took pulls, and even tried to solo for victory, but could not shake the Schlecks. The three survived to the finish, 24 seconds clear of a chase pack that formed on the Côte de Saint-Nicolas. Neither brother attacked in the finale, which came on a slight downhill, leaving the superior sprinter Gilbert to take a rather easy win, his fourth in 11 days.[45]
Despite the spring classics season ending without any victories, Nygaard stated he felt satisfied with the many high placings the team had achieved, particularly in the face of Gilbert's clear strength.[46] Additionally, Leopard Trek became the number one team in the UCI's rankings after Liège–Bastogne–Liège, a position they had occupied, to no small amount of criticism, before the season and before they officially existed.[47]
The team also sent squads to the Trofeo Palma, Trofeo Inca, Trofeo Palma, Trofeo Deià, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the Clásica de Almería, Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne, the Grote Scheldeprijs and the Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop, but placed no higher than 11th in any of these races.
The team also sent a squad to the Vattenfall Cyclassics, where Wegmann finished as the team's best rider, in 15th place.[48]
After the team had been shut out in early season stage races, Cancellara was victorious in the short individual time trial that closed out Tirreno–Adriatico. Taking the course some two hours before the race's top riders, the four-time world champion covered the 9.3 km (5.8 mi) distance in 10'33", and only one rider came within ten seconds of his time.[49] At Critérium International in March, five-time champion Voigt was hopeful of breaking the record he shares with Emile Idée and Raymond Poulidor to stand alone as a six-time champion,[50] but admitted that the course and the weather did not suit him, and so his chances would be slim.[51] During the decisive stage 1, Voigt bridged up to a morning breakaway some 90 km (56 mi) from the finish on the Col de l'Ospedale. He said afterward that he might slip away unmarked and stay away for victory, but if he were chased it would make the race hard, and a hard race would suit the Schleck brothers.[52] The latter scenario is exactly what occurred. Voigt was caught well before the summit of the Ospedale and finished the day in 75th place, over 20 minutes down, but the Schlecks both stayed with the front group on the road throughout the stage. Fränk Schleck put in his own attack for victory 2 km (1.2 mi) from the summit and stayed away for victory. Andy Schleck was tenth, a minute down on his brother.[53] The elder Schleck brother held his advantage through the flat stage and individual time trial on day two of the three-staage race, emerging as overall victor.[54] Bennati found great success at the Circuit de la Sarthe, taking his first wins in over a year at that race. The Italian sprinter first won stage 1 in a full field sprint before Garmin-Cervélo's Michel Kreder defeated him in the sprint finish the next day.[55][56] Later the same day as stage 2, Bennati won the 6.8 km (4.2 mi) time trial to extend his overall lead. It was the first time trial Bennati had ever won as a professional.[57] He finished six minutes down in the hilly fourth stage, losing any chance at winning the race overall,[58] but he rebounded to claim a third win in the event in a reduced sprint in stage 5. Three wins and a second place meant he handily won the event's points classification as well.[59]
The team also won lesser classifications at the Tour of Oman,[60] the Circuit de la Sarthe,[61] and the Tour de Suisse.[62] The team also sent squads to the Tour Down Under, the Tour of Qatar, the Volta ao Algarve, Vuelta a Andalucía, Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen, Paris–Nice, Volta a Catalunya, the Tour of the Basque Country, the Tour de Romandie, the Four Days of Dunkirk, the Tour of California, the Critérium du Dauphiné, Delta Tour Zeeland, the Ster ZLM Toer, the Tour de Pologne, the Eneco Tour, the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, the Tour du Poitou Charentes, the Tour of Britain, the Tour de Wallonie-Picarde and the Tour of Beijing, but did not achieve a stage win, classification win, or podium finish in any of them.
Leopard Trek entered the Giro with limited aspirations. Squad leader Wegmann was a former Giro mountains classification winner, but he said he would not target that award in the 2011 Giro and instead hoped for a stage win. He said the squad would aim to finish eighth or better in the opening team time trial and that Zaugg was the squad's general classification rider, though it would be unlikely for him to finish higher than 15th.[63] The squad came in 14th in the team time trial, finishing with eight riders together at a deficit of 42 seconds to the winners HTC-Highroad.[64] Weylandt was ninth in the field sprint to finish stage 2 the next day.[65]
During the descent of the third-category Passo del Bocco in stage 3, Weylandt crashed and suffered catastrophic injury. Race doctor Giovanni Tredici, and the doctor for the Garmin-Cervélo team were in cars very near Weylandt's group on the road, and administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation for approximately 40 minutes.[66] Doctors also gave Weylandt adrenaline and atropine to try to restart his heart, though Tredici stated that resuscitation efforts were rather clearly in vain, and that Weylandt was already dead by the time they got to him.[67] They were never able to revive the Belgian, and he was declared dead on the spot.[68] A short time later, Weylandt's body was airlifted off the descent and taken to a nearby hospital, where the pathologist conducting the autopsy concluded that the Belgian had sustained a basilar skull fracture, and had died immediately upon crashing.[69] Weylandt's death was the first at the Giro in 25 years, and the first at one of cycling's Grand Tours since Fabio Casartelli died during the 1995 Tour de France.[70]
Manuel Antonio Cardoso of Team RadioShack had been nearest to Weylandt when he crashed, and stated that Weylandt had touched a small retaining wall on the left side of the road with either his pedal or his handlebars, and was then catapulted across the road to the other side, where he again collided with something. He had looked behind him to ascertain his exact position in the race when he clipped the wall. Teammate Stamsnijder also witnessed the accident, saying "it was a very hard fall." Italian police, conducting an inquest into Weylandt's death, also took an official statement from the Portuguese rider at Team RadioShack's hotel.[71] A memorial was placed at the crash site, where Weylandt's widow and mother, along with cyclists, passersby and residents of nearby villages, placed flowers.[72] The Leopard Trek team remained in the race for another day at the encouragement of Weylandt's family.[73] Race leader David Millar spent the evening discussing with members of Leopard Trek, his teammate (and Weylandt's training partner and best friend) Tyler Farrar, and Weylandt's family how best to pay tribute to the fallen rider.[74] Weylandt wore bib number 108 in the race, and Giro officials have said they will not assign the number in future editions of the race.
The next day's stage was preceded by a minute's silence, and ridden as a procession in Weylandt's memory. In keeping with convention, there was no competitive racing. Each of the 23 teams took to the front of the peloton for about 15 minutes, and the remaining Leopard Trek squad, along with Farrar, were allowed to finish first with their arms around each other. Millar led the rest of the field across the line a few seconds later. No results for the stage were recorded, and it did not count towards the general classification or any of the points competitions. After the stage, instead of any podium presentations, the four jersey classification leaders (Millar, Alessandro Petacchi, Gianluca Brambilla, and Jan Bakelants) appeared on stage with the Leopard Trek team to lead another moment of silence.[75] Subsequently, Farrar and the remaining Leopard Trek squad all decided to leave the race.[76][77] Feillu did not want to leave the Giro, feeling that continuing to race would have been the best way to honor Weylandt, but he did not mind acquiescing to his teammates' will.[78] For most of them, the decision was based on a desire to attend Weylandt's funeral, which took place nine days after his death. Members of the Giro squad served as pallbearers. Other teammates, as well as Farrar, members of Weylandt's former team Quick Step, and Giro director Angelo Zomegnan were all in attendance, along with hundreds of cycling fans assembled outside the chapel.[79]
| Date | Race | Competition | Rider | Country | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 20 | Tour of Oman, Teams classification | UCI Asia Tour | [N 5] | Oman | |
| March 2 | Le Samyn | UCI Europe Tour | Dominic Klemme (GER) | Belgium | Dour |
| March 15 | Tirreno–Adriatico, Stage 7 | UCI World Tour | Fabian Cancellara (SUI) | Italy | San Benedetto del Tronto |
| March 26 | E3 Prijs Vlaanderen – Harelbeke | UCI Europe Tour | Fabian Cancellara (SUI) | Belgium | Harelbeke |
| March 26 | Critérium International, Stage 1 | UCI Europe Tour | Fränk Schleck (LUX) | France | Col de l'Ospedale |
| March 27 | Critérium International, Overall | UCI Europe Tour | Fränk Schleck (LUX) | France | |
| April 5 | Circuit de la Sarthe, Stage 1 | UCI Europe Tour | Daniele Bennati (ITA) | France | Saint-Mars-la-Jaille |
| April 6 | Circuit de la Sarthe, Stage 3 | UCI Europe Tour | Daniele Bennati (ITA) | France | Angers |
| April 8 | Circuit de la Sarthe, Stage 5 | UCI Europe Tour | Daniele Bennati (ITA) | France | Bonnétable |
| April 8 | Circuit de la Sarthe, Points classification | UCI Europe Tour | Daniele Bennati (ITA) | France | |
| May 29 | Bayern-Rundfahrt, Stage 5 | UCI Europe Tour | Giacomo Nizzolo (ITA) | Germany | Moosburg |
| June 1 | Tour de Luxembourg, Prologue | UCI Europe Tour | Fabian Cancellara (SUI) | Luxembourg | Luxembourg City |
| June 3 | Tour de Luxembourg, Stage 2 | UCI Europe Tour | Linus Gerdemann (GER) | Luxembourg | Differdange |
| June 5 | Tour de Luxembourg, Overall | UCI Europe Tour | Linus Gerdemann (GER) | Luxembourg | |
| June 11 | Tour de Suisse, Stage 1 | UCI World Tour | Fabian Cancellara (SUI) | Switzerland | Lugano |
| June 19 | Tour de Suisse, Stage 9 | UCI World Tour | Fabian Cancellara (SUI) | Switzerland | Schaffhausen |
| June 19 | Tour de Suisse, Mountains classification | UCI World Tour | Andy Schleck (LUX) | Switzerland | |
| June 19 | Tour de Suisse, Teams classification | UCI World Tour | [N 6] | Switzerland | |
| July 10 | Tour of Austria, Stage 8 | UCI Europe Tour | Daniele Bennati (ITA) | Austria | Vienna |
| July 21 | Tour de France, Stage 18 | UCI World Tour | Andy Schleck (LUX) | France | Galibier–Serre Chevalier |
| July 25 | Tour de Wallonie, Stage 3 | UCI Europe Tour | Daniele Bennati (ITA) | Belgium | Perwez |
| August 5 | Tour of Denmark, Stage 3 | UCI Europe Tour | Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) | Denmark | Vejle |
| August 20 | Vuelta a España, Stage 1 | UCI World Tour | Team time trial[N 7] | Spain | Benidorm |
| September 10 | Vuelta a España, Stage 20 | UCI World Tour | Daniele Bennati (ITA) | Spain | Vitoria |
| October 4 | Binche–Tournai–Binche | UCI Europe Tour | Rüdiger Selig (GER)[N 8] | Belgium | Binche |
| October 15 | Giro di Lombardia | UCI World Tour | Oliver Zaugg (SUI) | Italy | Lecco |
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