10/9/14 11:07 AM

Andy Schleck, 29, has announced his immediate retirement from professional cycling, citing cartilage damage in his right knee as the cause. The 2010 Tour de France winner confirmed the news at a press conference held in his native Luxembourg on Thursday, ending weeks of speculation over his future.

With his existing contract at Trek Factory Racing winding down this year, Schleck found himself without a team for 2015 but any hopes of renewing with the American squad, or finding a new team for that matter, were dashed with his knee failing to recover from what turned out to be a career ending crash in this year’s Tour de France.

"Now I have to confirm the speculation. In 2015 I will not be a professional cyclist anymore, which hurts me a lot but I had no real decision. It was taken from me by my crash in the Tour in the UK," Schleck said in Mondorf-les-Bains on Thursday. "I could ride for three to four hours but when I went hard on a climb, my knee swelled up. I went back to the doctors and they said there was not much they could do.

"The ligaments were fine, they healed, but I have almost no cartilage left under my kneecap."

10/9/14 11:26 AM

I thoight he quit 3 years ago but didn't announce it:(

10/9/14 11:27 AM

I guess a lot of folks did. ;O

But didn't a broken hip really do him in...

10/10/14 5:41 AM

...a broken pelvis.

10/10/14 10:13 AM

Sacral fracture if you want to get technical.

All that to me is the hip, as in 'the leg bone connected to the hip bone' [in a whimsical tune] ;)

10/11/14 10:21 AM

...I can assure you that it's not the same thing. ;-)

10/11/14 10:46 AM

yeah yeah, the hip is the joint. jeeeze...

On the jocular side of the post, I offer proof.

Verse 1
Toe bone connected to the foot bone
Foot bone connected to the heel bone
Heel bone connected to the ankle bone
Ankle bone connected to the shin bone
Shin bone connected to the knee bone
Knee bone connected to the thigh bone
<b>Thigh bone connected to the hip bone
Hip bone connected to the back bone</b>
Back bone connected to the shoulder bone
Shoulder bone connected to the neck bone
Neck bone connected to the head bone
Now hear the word of the Lord.

See, leg, hip, back.


My next post will be 'whatever' just so you know. ;)