RadioShack on track

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.

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.