For several years, the Schleck family often appeared as a threesome in the big races. Sons Andy and Fränk Schleck in the peloton, Johny Schleck as a supporter off the road. Father Johny was always a favourite point of contact for reporters. Which of his sons has the better chance of winning this time? "50:50" was usually his diplomatic answer.
The family history in cycling goes back to the grandfather Auguste Schleck, who came third in the Luxembourg road championship in 1928. However, it was Johny Schleck who first made the family name famous: He was a professional cyclist between 1965 and 1974 and took part in the Tour de France eight times. Schleck particularly distinguished himself as a loyal helper and helped his team-mates Jan Janssen and Luis Ocana to overall Tour victory in 1968 and 1973. In 1970, Johny Schleck also won a stage of the Vuelta a Espana.
Andy Schleck rivals Alberto Contador at the Tour de France
More than three decades later, Schleck experienced the steep rise of his sons as a coach and companion. From 2006, Andy and Fränk Schleck recorded their first major successes and were soon among the favourites for every major national tour.
Andy Schleck finished second in the Giro d'Italia in 2007 at the age of 21, and from then on he was regarded as Alberto Contador's great rival in the Tour de France. In 2009 and 2010, the Luxembourger finished in second place behind the Spaniard, although Contador's overall victory in 2010 was awarded to him retrospectively due to a positive doping test.
Since then, his name has been on the list of Tour winners, although Schleck was only partially happy with this. "I never stood on the top step of the podium on the Champs-Elysees. I didn't sign my contract for the following year as a Tour winner. This victory is on my record, but it remains a disappointment," Andy Schleck once said in "L'Equipe".
Andy Schleck ends his career at the age of 29
In 2011, both Schleck brothers even stood on the Tour de France podium together behind winner Cadel Evans, Andy Schleck in second place and Fränk Schleck, almost five years older, in third. However, the successful pair of brothers began to fall apart from 2012 onwards: Andy Schleck missed the Tour due to injury and his brother Fränk was found to be taking the banned diuretic Xipamid, which is often used to conceal doping substances, in a urine sample during the Tour. Although he protested his innocence, the Luxembourg anti-doping agency ALAD banned him for a year.
Things didn't go any better for Andy Schleck in sporting terms: in 2013 he finished an unremarkable 20th in the Tour, retired early in 2014 after a crash and announced the end of his career at the age of 29. Persistent knee problems forced him to take this step. Meanwhile, Fränk Schleck returned to the peloton after his ban and won a stage of the Vuelta a Espana, but was unable to match his previous results. He ended his career in 2016.
Andy Schleck is now the organiser of the Tour of Luxembourg, while his brother Fränk works for the Luxembourg Cycling Federation. His father Johny Schleck celebrated his 80th birthday last year.
