Andy Schleck (soon to ride for Trek Factory Racing) had a not very good 2013 season. He finished the 2013 Tour in 20th place overall, over 41 minutes down on Chris Froome. But this year, he is determined to recapture his former level.

Schleck says that he was not that impressed with Chris Froome’s performances in the mountains at this year’s Tour de France.

“He [Froome] is very strong, but he was only seven seconds quicker up Ax-3 Domaines this year than I was in 2010,” Schleck told L’Équipe. “And the previous year, on the Ventoux, I went up as quickly as he did this year, after I had attacked at the bottom and then ridden stop-start at the finish.

“Those are only indications but Froome doesn’t amaze me any more than that. His acceleration is very strong; after that, he goes up like it’s a time trial with a strange style… He impresses me less than [Nairo] Quintana.”

Andy Schleck believes that he still has five or six Tours left in his career. His ambition, he says, is “to win the Tour again by finishing in yellow on the Champs-Élysées.”

Andy Schleck was awarded the victory of the 2010 Tour de France following Alberto Contador’s positive test for clenbuterol. It is never fun to take the victory like that. He was really strong during that race, but misfortune made him lose it.

“I should have beaten Contador, I was stronger than him. I was in yellow when he attacked me on Port de Bales when my chain slipped. Was that deliberate? I wasn’t sure. Contador was attacking everywhere, without warning.”

I am looking forward to see him race in 2014, and hopefully he will be back in form.