Where is Leopard Trek?

For a team that came into being pre-loaded with talent and organisation like no other before it, Leopard Trek has been an early season disappointment, writes Philip Gomes.

Two months have passed in the road cycling season and a few thoughts are beginning to take shape on the team front for me.

Most noticeable at this stage is the absence of Leopard Trek on the winners podium. Yes they did put Daniele Bennatti there at the Tour of Qatar (3rd) and win the team prize in Oman but that's it.

In fact I've received more press releases from Leopard Trek that they have had results, in the past two months.

For a team that was immediately given a number one billing by the UCI using a super-secret system no one knows about, their season so far has been a bit of a disappointment.

And saying that this new team needs time to 'gel' is also no excuse. Leopard Trek emerged into the new season after being pulled wholly formed and screaming from the narrow loins of Bjarne Riis. Given this we expected more.

Sure Leopard Trek is a team largely built around two riders, Andy Schleck and Fabian Cancellara - and their ambitions (The Tour de France Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix) are yet to be raced - but the rest of the season is the time for the lesser lights of the team to grab their opportunities - to show the team means business.

In contrast Garmin-Cervelo, HTC-Highroad, Liquigas-Cannondale, Rabobank, Omega Pharma-Lotto and Sky are just a few of the teams similarly loaded with a mix of GC and one-day talent that have already made their mark on the early season.

Even an underdone (medium rare?) Alberto Contador has had a sniff at a win for a Saxo Bank-Sungard team that really is rebuilding, after the mass exodus of many of their key riders to Luxembourg.

And these teams are showing their range by performing at a high level across both the one-dayers and smaller stage races common to this time of the year. With Leopard Trek no-where to be seen.

Take Liquigas-Cannondale as an example. They were the best Grand Tour team of 2010 with Ivan Basso winning the Giro d'Italia and Vincenzo Nibali the Vuelta a Espana.

Like Leopard Trek, Liquigas-Cannondale is loaded with talent and contains one of Andy Schlecks major rivals for the Tour de France, Basso.

Elia Viviani won the GP Costa degli Etruschi and unoffical overall at the Tour of Mumbai while Simone Ponzi came second in the Trofeo Laigueglia.

Peter Sagan made the recent Giro di Sardegna his own with three stage wins and the overall. Liquigas-Cannondale placed three guys in the top ten at GP Insubria and unusually, Basso himself posted a one-day win in the GP Lugarno.

Liquigas-Cannondale looks fit and organised well ahead of the major engagements of the season. Without results it's hard to say the same for Leopard Trek. The lack of results probably means they are not.

Another team that has horses in both the the Grand Tour's and one-day races is Rabobank. Robert Gesink, Theo Bos, Oscar Freire and Michael Matthews have all featured for the Dutch outfit.

Gesink looks like he has taken another step up, albeit with an admittedly minor win in the Tour of Oman. But the signs are there nonetheless, he did it with style and surprised with an interesting ride against the clock to secure the win.

There isn't much to say about Freire that hasn't already been said but the evergreen Spaniard continues to post results as has the imperfectly formed speedster Bos and the irrepressible Matthews.

Young to old, GC riders to one day specialists and sprinters, Liquigas-Cannondale and Rabobank are just two of the teams that have left Leopard Trek with a lot of work to do in order to make their first season a successful one.

I understand that with Cancellara and Andy Schleck in the lineup their focus would be on the Flanders/Roubaix double and Tour de France overall, but there are no guarantees on race day.

A modern well supported and highly talented team like Leopard Trek needs to perform across the board, from January to October, and this team increasingly looks like they have too narrow a vision for the times.

At this stage of the game Garmin-Cervelo and Sky looks a better bet to win Flanders and Roubaix than Leopard Trek. Basso, Gesink and even Jurgen Van Den Broeck sharper than Andy Schleck ahead of the Grand Tours.