Part two: That special!

How crazy were the weeks after Liege-Bastogne-Liege?
Luxembourg went mad. But they also did when Kim Kirchen had the yellow jersey last year and when Fränk won on the Alpe d’Huez. They’re getting used to the madness in Luxembourg (laughs). But to outnumber the craziness after Liege… That’s going to be a challenge! (laughs)

What did you do in the week after La Doyenne?‘Nothing special. The morning after Liege-Bastonge-Liege we scheduled a timetrail training.
Are you serious? You trained with a victory hangover?
Oh, yeah. I felt the hangover! (laughs). But the season isn’t over yet, so I have to train! After that I relaxed a little bit for a few weeks. Fränk and I recently bought a pond with a cabine. We went fishing there a lot those weeks. Just relaxing, away from the stress. We’ve made a lot of fun at the pond. Nobody knows where it is, except for Fränk and me , and our closest friends.

Can you go on the streets in Luxembourgh without being bothered?
Only if we wear our helmet. (laughs) Sometimes I think it’s annoying, I don’t like being stared at. If a child asks for an autograph, than theirs is no problem, but any further…no! Fortunately people from Luxembourgh are very calm. They aren’t starstruck!
Yesterday I was training an a boy yelled: You are my hero, Andy! I have to laugh about this, I didn’t saved any lives or something. Just won a couple of stages. What’s special about that?
I like that we inspire lot of children to start cycling. They all want to be Like Fränk and Andy. That’s nice. I’m very proud!

Do you know any pressure at all? You are relaxed all the time.
My motivation is the only pressure for me. I’ll cycle until I fall of my bike, because I want to win. But if I gave it all, I can never regret it. Can’t worry to much about it. If I gave it all in a lost stage, it only takes fifteen minutes before I can relax again.

That’s a good one. About L-B-L: Your brother was very emotional when you were on stage.
You should have seen me when Fränk won the Amstel. I cried like a baby. When Fränk wins, I’m so happy. Because I know what he did to get that form. When I win, I’m still happy, but not that intense when Fränk takes the flowers.
I heard that I looked not that impressed on the stage in Liege, but I think I couldn’t believe it at that point. Later that day, I drove home with Fränk and Kim Andersen and grabed my cell-phone for the first time that day. I had ninety textmessages to congratulate me, the phone couldn’t take more. At that point I saw what I did that day: I did something major! I started crying, couldn’t hold it back anymore. I thought about all the hard work I had to do for this. ‘Finally he realizes it’ Kim Andersen said.

Does Fränk has to train harder than you?
No, not at all! Nobody wants to believe it, but I’m less talented than Fränk. For example: at the training camp in the winter he sprints out of my wheel. At that moment we trained exactly the same.
That’s because he’s five years older.
Maybe. We ride both very good at a bike. Let’s keep it that way!