Luxemburger Andy Schleck’s final preparations for what he hopes will be a more rewarding Tour de France campaign in July begin in earnest at the nine-day Tour of Switzerland starting Saturday. Schleck has finished yellow jersey runner-up the past two years and, although he may yet be awarded victory from 2010, the younger brother of Tour of Switzerland champion Frank remains focused on winning this year’s edition. Beaten to the storied yellow jersey in 2010 by just 39secs, Schleck could yet be crowned champion if Contador is banned from the sport later this summer. The Spaniard tested positive in July 2010 for clenbuterol, which he blamed on food contamination, and after much official to-ing and fro-ing a final decision is expected from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in August. Despite expressing doubts on his participation, Contador is expected to race the July 2-25 epic, a little more than a month after securing his second triumph at the Tour of Italy. If Schleck needed to shake off any cobwebs three weeks before challenging the seemingly unbeatable Spaniard, the Tour of Switzerland is the place to be. Along with the Criterium du Dauphine in France, which ends Sunday, the race provides the chance to finetune the myriad physical and mental details that can make all the difference come July. Five days in the mountains should also give Schleck the chance to showcase the formidable climbing skills that made last year’s Tour de France duel with Contador so enthralling. Although predominantly hilly, the race has potential for bunch sprints on stages four and eight that will give Mark Cavendish, Robbie McEwen, Andre Greipel, Thor Hushovd and Tom Boonen the chance to rub elbows during their hectic drives to finish line. HTC-Highroad sprinter Cavendish is a 15-time stage winner at the Tour de France and lines up with Australian teammate Matt Goss, who outsprinted a quality field to win Milan-SanRemo in March.
