RadioShack on track

12 April 2011 | 0:00 - By Philip Gomes

One of the quiet surprises of the 2011 season has been the performance of RadioShack as it emerges from the shadow of Lance Armstrong, writes Philip Gomes.

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Radioshack's Andreas Kloden dons a Basque beret after winning the six-day Tour of the Basque Country (Reuters)

One of the quiet surprises of the 2011 season has been the performance of RadioShack as it emerges from the shadow of Lance Armstrong.

Of course we all know about Armstrong. Not only did he dominate the structure and focus of his teams but his presence was such that it dominated the sport for a decade.

Armstrong offered a dual presence in the sport over that decade, bringing in a new fan base in a way no other rider did but often sucking the oxygen out of it when the superb performances of other riders deserved a better airing.

From the outside looking in, riding for a Lance Armstrong led team may have been suffocating for his team mates, but they chose their fate and were largely paid well and enjoyed winning seasons.

But with his leaving that has all changed, and in a sense RadioShack is a better team for it.

Last year RadioShack finished the season outside the top-ten (11th) and with one rider in the top 20 (Chris Horner). As of this week they are world number one and have two riders in the top ten (Kloden and Horner).

Though still strongly connected to Armstrong, the RadioShack of 2011 now appears a different team to the one Armstrong left in January and have now posted some handy results on their way to the top spot on the UCI WorldTour rankings.

That ranking has been achieved on the back of a rider who has often ridden in the shadow of others, Andreas Kloden (35) - who has re-emerged as a team leader and world number three on a team that has lost its dominating head.

Kloden won a stage at Paris Nice, finished second overall and the team won the the overall classification in the teams category. He won a stage at the Criterium International and then last week took out the overall at the Tour of the Basque Country.

“Honestly I haven’t worked harder than the other years,” said Kloden about his Basque Country result on the team website. “Maybe I even trained a bit less obsessively, but this year I never had bad luck or illnesses like in the last seasons.

"I was good in Algarve, I continued in Paris-Nice, recovered well and did a good TT in Critérium International. And here, in the Basque Country, I was lucky with this hot weather - perfect for me - and with my glorious teammates.”

Can this be considered a new lease on life? I think so. Given their opportunities, the entire team has performed this season, young and old.

Ben Hermans, Robbie Hunter, Markel Irizar, Jesse Sergent, Manuel Cardoso and Sebastien Rosseler have all posted winning results this season.

Add a barely missed podium for Gregory Rast at the biggest one-day race of the year (4th Paris-Roubaix) and you'll see there is a lot to like about RadioShack - while a talented bunch, no one rider stands out.

And while I'd be loathe to identify any team managed by Johan Bruyneel as scrappy I'm happy doing it.

They have a good mix of veteran performers and young riders and while they may be missing a true 'killer punch' like the one represented by Lance Armstrong they have the next best thing, a team.

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Comments (5)

16 Apr 2011 8:33 AEST

Matt O

From: Melbourne

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Thanks Dr Ferrari

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15 Apr 2011 7:40 AEST

Jorge

From: Pinto, Madrid

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@Wilko, success story? They're sucking oxygen out of the Pro Tour. I can think of a number of teams more worthy of Pro Tour status that a squad put together to pull one man around France. A team that did no less than jump every set up barrier to entry into the Pro Tour, by simply parting with some cash. Sky did the same. They both suck literally when it comes to viewing. The Shack is a failure too. Will they stick around now Lance is done? I doubt it. Nor do I care. Horner is good, but he's prehistoric. So is Levi. Kloden is 35 and sadly, the only performance last year worth mentioning was Brajkovic's win in the Dauphine. Kloden is doing well at this time of year. News flash, he usually does, like last year. How does he go at the big events? He focuses on team goals. The teams goal in 2010? Lance in yellow and wasn't that a spectacle! Will this team be no.1 after Romandie or the Giro, let alone the Ardennes classics? Heck, they skipped the hardest race of 2010 (the Giro) for the Tour. They're in it for money and to take short cuts. Maybe when I see these goofballs race the Giro and Vuelta and have a serious crack, rather than have Kloden pull Lance up hills (real leader quality there), then Phil's subtle humour might hold real world weight. Till then, thanks for the laugh. The real teams will be racing week in, week out, rather than turning up for the ToC and having their leaders choke big time like happened last year.

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12 Apr 2011 16:30 AEST

tobywahh

From: Deep in the bunker

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Maybe Bruyneel should get himself suspended more often? Two month ban for jersey PR stunt and his team's results go through the roof.

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12 Apr 2011 16:30 AEST

Scott

From: Perth

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Armstrong contributed virtually nothing in the team's debut year. Last year Horner's crushing time trial secured the Pais Vasco overall, and likewise for Brajkovic in the Dauphine (also staying with Contador for most of the Alpe). With these two, not to mention Klöden and Leipheimer they already have the platform for good results in stage races. Hermans, Rosseler and Machado showed last year that they will take races on and as they continue to improve are likely to pull off more decent results. In mentioning their ProTour ranking last year, you need to remember that they were not invited to either the Giro or Vuelta, where they would have at least had someone in the top10 of both races. They recruited well over the summer with young or improving riders in Cardoso, Deignan, King, Sergent, Kwiatkowski and Oliveira; combined with the experience of Hunter and McEwen. Their great performances thus far are largely independent of the Armstrong factor. The only difference is more freedom on the road, not having to support a leader doomed for failure - enabling those like Klöden to pursue individual glory. Last year was their first season, you cannot put together a World #1 squad in just one off-season, ask Sky. Those who moved from Astana were a solid foundation, but now they have been able to build on that and create a squad with more depth and talent across a wider variety of disciplines. But the team already had the makings of a good one last year, so I think the "Armstrong factor" is being overstated. I hope they are able to secure funding beyond 2011 in order to keep this strong unit together.

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12 Apr 2011 15:49 AEST

Wilko

From: Shack HQ's

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Interesting read....Still trying to get my head around if Phil is a Team Radioshack fan or not, lets go with the not. While Armstrong may have been the lead weight in the saddle bag that RS needed to offload the fact is he and Bruyneel were the two who put this success story together. We were promised so much via Team Lay-O-Pard that it is refreshing to see the guys at Team Radioshack atop the UCI rankings.

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