By Jeff Ludlum 6 March 2010
Team RadioShack (TRS) is well on their way in the 2010 season, bringing a multi-pronged attack to the early races of the year, and several riders on the team are competing for the line. Much more than simply Lance Armstrong’s team (which it certainly is!), other racers are also showing the form and power to make TRS not just a team for Le Tour, but much, much more.
There was a lot of understandable excitement for TRS’ first race in January for the Santos Down Under in South Australia. With plenty of strong teams in the field, including HTC Columbia (who had the eventual winner, Andre Greipel) as well as the new British squad, Team Sky, the Shack’s riders had a few flares, including Gert Steegmans’ near stage win, finishing second early on.
TRS then gathered for training camp in Calpe, Spain, where a couple new members joined the group: Ben Hermans, who missed the December Tucson camp while healing from broken toe bone; and Fumi Beppu, who in December and January was in discussion to end the contract he was under with Skil Shimano. The team had collection of good training rides during their two week camp; there was also a media day, and the entire team was formally outfitted with their new bikes, kits, and other team gear.
Then it was on to the Volta ao Algarve in Portugal, where Sebastien Rosseler earned the first stage win for The Shack with a strong breakaway that he held all the way to the line in Stage 4. Tiago Machado also rode well throughout the five stage race, finishing third in the GC. Machado was rewarded for the strong performance, named this week to the start list by team manager Johan Bruyneel for the famous Paris–Nice race.
In the Giro di Sardegna, TRS continued to ride well as team, with Chris Horner riding in his first race of the season. Horner had to feel good about the effort, as he came close to another stage win for The Shack, finishing second in Stage 4. All told, TRS delivered an admirable effort for the week. The Shack took the Team GC, Horner finished 2nd in the GC, just 0:04 seconds off the winner, Roman Kreuziger of Liquigas. Another Shacker, Jani Brajovic also had a good race, finishing 4th in the GC. Finally, Ben Hermans, fully recovered from his foot injury, started his first race of the season in Sardegna.
TRS then headed north into the cold, damp weather of late winter in Belgium and the opening weekend of the Belgian racing calendar. Horrendous weather met the team during two one-day races. The Omloop Het Nieuwatblad on Saturday was followed by the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne (or KBK, as it’s often referred) on Sunday. Wet, windy, and brutal, the field of a 248 riders was whittled down to a fraction of that number by the day’s end, with many riders abandoning the effort. In the midst of this suffering, Fumi Beppu rode his first race in the Shack kit – quite a place to start! A couple other bright spots for an otherwise dreary day: TRS’ Gregory Rast finished 9th for the day, and Sebastien Rosseler finished a minute behind his teammate, crossing 14th overall.
Which brings us back to Spain for the Vuelta a Murcia this week. The media was all over the Bradley Wiggins – Lance Armstrong match-up, “head to head at the Vuelta de Murcia”, etc. In addition to Armstrong, TRS sent Daryl Impey, Andreas Klöden, Jason McCartney, Gregory Rast, Jose Luis Rubiera and Haimar Zubeldia.
Stage 1 and 2 in Murcia saw Daryl Impey with strong sprints at the finish to cross 5th and then 10th respectively. Then in Stage 3, Kloden delivered a 5th place finish (ahead of Wiggins!). In the TT Stage 4, Kloden finished 4th, showing he’s certainly still capable of racing at the front.
Meanwhile, The Shack’s also sent a squad back to Belgium for some more race time in the Three Days in West Flanders (including Bjorn Selander, Fumi Beppu, Markel Irizar, Dmitriy Muravyev, Ivan Rovny, Ben Hermans, Sam Bewley, and Tomas Vaitkus).
And finally, Paris-Nice starts on Sunday, with TRS roster announced by Bruyneel to include JB Junior (Brajovic), Horner, Levi, Lequatre, Machado, Popo (Popovych), Lord of the Rings (Rosseler) & Steegmans.
Quite an exciting flurry of activity as the season speeds up! What’s more, the Shack is forming a nice echelon for success as they battle the weather, the roads, and the other racers to be first across the finish line as we roll through the spring!
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