Frank Schleck not willing to lead Team RadioShack-Nissan at the Tour de France 2012

Frank Schleck not willing to lead Team RadioShack-Nissan at the Tour de France 2012

Team RadioShack-Nissan has no option but to ride the Tour de France under the leadership of Frank Schleck.

Frank’s younger brother Andy was expected to lead the side at the coming even but the cyclist has now withdrawn from the race since the crash.

Frank finished third during the Tour de France 2011 and also holds two fifth spot finishes during the 2008 and the 2009 versions of the race.

He holds as many as ten Grand Tour participations to his credit including two Giro d’ Italia, six Tour de France and two Vuelta a Espana races under his belt.

The cyclist was struggling to find the right form in the earlier part of the season as he failed to bag a single win in the first half of the year.

However, his most recent performance during the Tour de Suisse that earned him a second overall spot at the Tour de Suisse has answered all the critics.

Frank showed tremendous legs during the nine-day race and came close to bag his first overall victory at the Swiss race.

He secured the second overall spot with a deficit of 14 seconds on the race leader, Rui Alberto Da Costa of Team Movistar.

Levi Leipheimer of Team Omega Pharma-QuickStep, Robert Gesink of Team Rabobank and Mikel Nieve Ituralde of Team Euskaltel-Euskadi achieved the third, the fourth and the fifth positions respectively.

Team Sports Director Kim Andersen told politiken.dk, “I’ve obviously heard predictions that Fränk with his current form has a good chance to be in the showdown for the win, but to pin your hopes on it seems to me crazy”.

“It should be remembered that Fränk has competed at a high level ever since the start of Giro d’Italia in early May”.

“So it’s completely unrealistic to believe that he can compete among the best in the Tour over three weeks in July”.

On the other hand Frank does not seem so willing to lead the side at the Tour de France 2012, “I don’t want to be captain. I can’t continue to perform at top level,” he told Het Nieuwsblad.

The 32-year-old noted that the major reason why he is not willing to captain the side is because he fails to perform, he will be an easy target for the critics.