The character arc of Andy Schleck
Born 10 June 1985 in Luxembourg City, into a family where the bicycle was already the family trade. Between then and now sit a childhood on two wheels, a professional debut at nineteen, three years of Tour de France podiums, a long duel with Alberto Contador, a title awarded two years after the race, and a knee that ended the riding earlier than he wanted. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Andy Schleck?
The climber who won it two years late.
He was born in Luxembourg City in 1985 into a cycling family, and there was never much question of what he would do. His father Johny had ridden the Tour de France through the late 1960s and early 1970s, and his older brother Frank was already a professional when Andy turned professional himself, with Team CSC, at nineteen. He climbed well and early, and by his mid twenties he was one of the best stage racers in the world, a slight figure who came alive when the road tilted upward.
The line does not run straight up. He finished second at the Tour de France in 2009, second again in 2010, and second once more in 2011, three podiums in a row that made him one of the most consistent Grand Tour riders of his generation and yet left the top step just out of reach. The hardest of those was 2010, when his chain slipped on a mountain stage and the rival he was fighting rode away to take back the exact margin that decided the race. In 2011 he answered on the Col du Galibier with a long solo attack that is still remembered as one of the great modern rides, and he and his brother stood on the Paris podium together, the first brothers ever to do so.
The record turned again in February 2012, when the 2010 winner was disqualified for a doping violation and the title was awarded to Andy, two years after he had crossed the line. He has always said it is not the same as winning it on the road, and that honesty is part of why people respect him. A knee injury cut the rest of his career short, and he retired in 2014 with more grace than bitterness. His line is worth reading because three second places and a title handed over late could have soured a person, and instead he opened a bike shop at home and stayed in the sport he was born into.
The moments
Andy Schleck's timeline.
The 1980s
Born into a cycling family
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Born in Luxembourg City, son of Tour rider Johny Schleck and younger brother of Frank, in a family where the bicycle was the trade.
The 2000s
Turned professional at nineteen
Milestone. He signed with Team CSC as a teenager, a natural climber alongside his older brother, and rose quickly through the ranks.
Second at the Tour
Milestone. He finished second overall at the Tour de France and won the young rider classification, his first Grand Tour podium.
The 2010s
The chain, stage fifteen
Setback, and it changed his direction. Leading on the climb, his chain slipped as he attacked, and his rival rode on to take back the very margin that would decide the race.
Second by thirty nine seconds
Setback. He finished second again in Paris, thirty nine seconds behind, in a long duel with Alberto Contador that went to the last mountains.
Won on the Galibier
Milestone, and it changed everything. He rode away alone over the Col du Galibier on stage eighteen, a long solo attack remembered as one of the great modern Tour rides.
Brothers on the podium
Milestone, and it changed his direction. He finished second overall with his brother Frank third, the first siblings ever to share the Tour de France podium in Paris.
Awarded the 2010 Tour
Milestone, and it changed everything. The 2010 winner was disqualified for a doping violation and the title was awarded to Andy, two years after the race he had finished second.
Fight the knee, or stop
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: retire while still respected, taken, or chase one more comeback. He stopped, with more grace than bitterness, opened a shop at home, and later returned to the sport from inside the team car.
A knee ends the road
Setback, and it changed everything. A knee injury that would not heal ended his racing at twenty nine, and he stepped away from the sport with grace rather than bitterness.
Opened a shop at home
Everyday. He opened a bicycle shop and cafe in Luxembourg, staying close to the sport he was born into.
The 2020s
Back in the team car
Everyday. He works inside professional cycling again, part of the management of a leading team, the family trade carried on.
The line reaches today still inside the sport, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. He works in the team car again, and the boy from the cycling family is remembered less for the seconds he lost than for the way he kept climbing after each one.
Your turn
Every story draws a unique line.
His is four decades in and still bound up with the road. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about three minutes.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Andy Schleck, verified 14 September 2026.
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, biography of Andy Schleck.
- The 2009, 2010 and 2011 Tour de France official classifications.
- The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling on the 2010 Tour de France, February 2012.
- Cyclist.co.uk, reporting on Andy Schleck and the Lidl-Trek team, 2026.