RadioShack Leopard missing Schleck

Abandonment from Tirreno-Adriatico another hold-up for Luxembourger.

Andy Schleck's withdrawal from Tirreno-Adriatico yesterday constituted yet another disappointment for the rider who has suffered a series of set-backs since his return to competition following his crash and broken sacrum sustained at last year's Critérium du Dauphiné.

While the appalling conditions saw nearly one third of the field pull out of the stage yesterday, the "DNF" label seems increasingly problematic for Schleck to drop.

At the Santos Tour Down Under Schleck abandoned on the final stage after apparently experiencing mechanical problems, stage 1 at Tour Mediterranéen saw Schleck calling it quits after barely 100 km and then he skipped the Tour du Haut-Var altogether to train in Mallorca.

"We were sad to see Andy abandon," said RadioShack-Leopard team director, Luca Guercilena, on the team site. "He has been improving a lot but in these conditions, he wasn't able to follow today. His condition is coming up but on a physically demanding day like today, it just wasn't enough. We think he still suffers psychologically from last year's crash. We hope he continues to work through this and that it passes soon. This is the most important thing. We want our Andy back. We think he can benefit from working with someone in the effort to help him find his old self. This is important to all of us."

The Critérium International has been listed as the next appointment on Schleck's race itinerary. The two-day tour runs from 23-24 March giving Schleck a little more than 10 days to recover from his latest disillusionment.