Creative tension

There is only one race that can now save the season for Andy Schleck, his older brother Frank and RadioShack-Nissan, the Tour de France.

To say this season for the Schlecks and RadioShack-Nissan has been one to forget is an understatement, and the latest news coming out of the team camp suggests there are also a few internal management tensions.

Back in February, as the reality of the freshly minted RadioShack and Leopard Trek merger was starting to sink in, it was all sweetness and light. Optimism reigned and success for Andy and the team was all in front of them, with Johan Bruyneel driving the bus.

"We had training camps two-and-a-half weeks in Mallorca. Johan is now also in Luxembourg so we meet quite a lot We did testing on the track with time-trial bikes," Andy Schleck told Cycling Central's Sophie Smith at the Tour of Oman.

"I see more and more it's definitely a good direction to go with Johan because he really has a lot of experience more than I actually thought before. I always knew that he was good. He's worked with the best in the world. It's hard to put it in words what you learn because you talk a lot, you train a lot, you work a lot. We did a lot more than the last year already," Schleck explained.

"For me, Johan is really good because as a cyclist your body has got to be strong but you've also got to be strong in the head and confident and that's definitely a strong point also.

"When I was in good shape last year I never had any problem with confidence in races. But it's not just confidence it's to make the right decisions in the right moments, in a race and also in training. That's something you've got to work on and something you can learn."

And it is the relationship with Bruyneel that most keen watchers of the pro cycling scene were scrutinising. With many predicting the man who shepherded Lance Armstrong to seven Tour de France victories would either provide a rod for the backs of the seemingly hesitant Schlecks or the whole thing would come crashing down.

But in the fullness of time, in reality three months later, and with no real results or form to show for the Schlecks' new association with Bruyneel the outcome remains uncertain. And news that long time Schleck confidant Kim Andersen has been effectively sidelined from involvement in the Tour de France only adds to that uncertainty.

"It's the plan we set out with in the past at the beginning of the year and I have the people I've worked with for a number of years who have shown that they know how to manage a big tour and with those people there I'm sure that everybody will have the necessary support they need to make the right decisions," Bruyneel explained to Daniel Benson at Cyclingnews about the side-lining of Andersen.

If Bruyneel is anything at all it's a results based realist, as his comments post another result free race at Liege-Bastogne-Liege attest.

"I hope this will serve as motivation for the second part of the season. If we look back there isn't a good explanation for why things haven't worked, other than that both of the Schlecks have had some illness this season. So we have to use this lack of results as motivation and tell ourselves that we start from zero and try to get back to earning good results."

So it may be that this entire season is a 'year zero' for Andy and Frank and Bruyneel is only doing what a good manager does. Prudently trimming the fat and ridding the team for the biggest race of the year of any previous associations that have only delivered runner-up results (I'm still counting 2010 as a second).

With Bruyneel's proven management and the Schlecks' significant talents there may yet be a surprise in store in July. After all, creative tensions often produce successful collaborations.

We all know the received wisdom about Andy's prospects for the 2012 Tour; there are too many time-trial kilometres on the agenda for him and Frank to make an impact. And I agree with that wisdom. But is it time for the Schleck camp to panic? Probably not.

This time last year there were many of the same questions being asked of the Schlecks as the siblings headed into the Tour de France and they answered all of them with the exception of one. Cadel Evans.

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