Professional Cycling For the Fans - Future of Team Radio Shack?

Who will be the younger riders that are going to step up? The 3 guys that placed in the top 25 in the 2010 TDF from the team are all older. Who will be their next GC contender?

Will they get a solid sprinter?


If the Luxembourg team falls through for the Schlecks will they join up?

A lot of questions. Should be interesting.

Armstrong had a podium finish this year....team podium heh.

I think he's done with the Tour, last time he went out on top. This time in a lot of the interviews he talked about how much harder it was than he thought it would be. I'm not sure what he has in store in the distant future as part of the team in a non riding position.

I'm curious about the team. How long of a contract do many of the riders have? Will RS stick with it (or go under financially) once Lance isn't riding anymore, which to be honest is a pretty big attention/money grabber for a team.

Kloden and, maybe, Horner could have won GC this year. (Sad to say, Leipheimer's best days are clearly behind hm.) None of the three got much help from the team this year. But, yes, they are an older team. I think they could be a contender for another year with the need to serve Armstrong out of the way. Not two.

Mini-Phinney.

Kloden and, maybe, Horner could have won GC this year. ...

Were we watching the same race? The both lost time to the top three riders in the TT stages, and flat out got left on the climbs.

Kloden and, maybe, Horner could have won GC this year.

Um, no.

More to the point, what is the future of Radio Shack?

More to the point, what is the future of Radio Shack?


I do think the team is here to stay. I just didn't know if any of you guys that know a ton about the tour knew of any young guys in the pipeline.

I do think that because the team is so new that in order to keep American Fans interested they will need to initially hire some talent away from other teams rather than try to promote from within (unless somebody knows of a rider that is an the cusp of breaking out).

Impey?

RadioShack has plenty of future stars in its pipelines.

http://cdn-www.livestrong.com/ls_images/tdp-images/avatars/5/2/2119095_trs.gif?v=2

Top Results:

2009 Highlights
1st – Overall – Presidential Tour of Turkey (and winner points classification)
1st – Stage 4 – Presidential Tour of Turkey
2nd – National Road Championships
3rd – Stage 3 – Presidential Tour of Turkey
3rd – Race 2 – Giro del Capo
5th – Stage 1 – Settimana Coppi e Bartali
5th – Stage 2 – Presidential Tour of Turkey
6th – Stage 6 – Presidential Tour of Turkey
6th – Stage 7 – Presidential Tour of Turkey
7th – Race 4 – Giro del Capo
10th – Stage 3 – Tour Méditerranéen



Daryl Impey

CountrySouth Africa BirthdateDecember 6, 1984 Height181 cm/ 5ft 9 in Weight70 kg/154 lbs ResidesSouth Africa
Teams

Microsoft Pro Cycling Team (03-04), La Pomme Marseille (05), Microsoft Pro Cycling Team (06), MTN-Microsoft (07), Barloworld (08-09), RadioShack (10)

At a Glance

Son of a former professional rider, Daryl became famous when he won the overall classification of the Tour of Turkey despite breaking two vertebrae in a crash, caused by Theo Bos, in the final kilometre of the last stage.

www.darylimpey.com






Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/teamradioshack/riders_DarylImpey/#ixzz0urBlBXtA

Bjorn Selander
CountryUSA
BirthdateJanuary 28, 1988
Height180 cm/5 ft 11 in
Weight71.5kg/157 lbs
ResidesHudson, WI
Teams
Trek-Livestrong(09), RadioShack(10)

At a Glance
Son of a former professional rider. Two-time national cyclocross champion (juniors 2004, U23 2007).



Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/teamradioshack/riders_BjornSelander/#ixzz0urCyxf89



Top Results:
2009 Highlights
2nd – National Championship TT
2nd – Stage 6 – Tour de Beauce
3rd – National Criterium Championships
4th – Stage 3 – Tour de Beauce
5th – Overall – Tour de Beauce
7th – Overall – Univest Grand Prix
9th – Stage 5 – Coupe des Nations Ville Saguenay
10th – Stage 3 – Flèche du Sud
10th – Stage 4a – Tour de Beauce
10th – Stage 5 – Tour de Beauce

Bjorn Selander
CountryUSA
BirthdateJanuary 28, 1988
Height180 cm/5 ft 11 in
Weight71.5kg/157 lbs
ResidesHudson, WI
Teams
Trek-Livestrong(09), RadioShack(10)

At a Glance
Son of a former professional rider. Two-time national cyclocross champion (juniors 2004, U23 2007).



Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/teamradioshack/riders_BjornSelander/#ixzz0urCs4sEe

http://cdn-www.livestrong.com/ls_images/tdp-images/avatars/5/2/2118975_trs.gif?v=2

Top Results:

2009 Highlights
1st – Wisconsin State Road Championship
1st – Sussex
1st- Chiropractic Partners crit.
1st- Chiropractic Partners time trial
1st – Tour of America’s Dairyland
1st – La Rue-Denzer-La Rue
4th – Stage 4 – Tour of Utah
5th – National Championships Road Race
5th – Stage 3 – Vuelta a Chihuahua
6th – Stage 2 – Univest GP
7th – Overall – Tour of Utah
9th – Overall – Univest GP
9th – Prologue – Vuelta a Chihuahua
10th – Stage 6 – Tour of Utah




Matthew Busche

CountryUSA BirthdateMay 9, 1985 Height177 cm/5 ft 8 in Weight70.5 km/155 lbs ResidesLas Cruces, NM
Teams

Kelly Benefit Strategies (09), RadioShack (10)

At a Glance

The two-time Wisconsin state road race champion spent a couple of years racing as an elite amateur before joining Kelly Benefit Strategies on August 14, 2009. He was added to the Tour of Utah squad and promptly finished seventh overall, with solid performances in the major climbing stages and the TT.





Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/teamradioshack/riders_MatthewBusche/#ixzz0urDWHgYS

I see them becoming a team that isn't solely focused on the TdF - that goes for a broader spectrum of wins (Classics, short tours, the major country tours like Swisse, UK, etc). In short - high profile wins that will generate press but that don't require the superstar (Contador) or full-team press (Postal days of old) to get the "one big target".

That will give them a few years to develop "the next one" if that guy ever comes along. In the meantime they are generating a ton of exposure for RadioShack and making the guy at "The Shack" who greenlighted the investment look like a demi-g-d to his executives.

I'll be shocked if Radio Shack is even around next year, maybe if they get a co-sponsor like Garmin does.

I'll be shocked if Radio Shack is even around next year, maybe if they get a co-sponsor like Garmin does.

bruyneel and lance are facing a federal investigation. this may have an impact on RS sponsorship.

erader

They have a lot of young riders and I haven't seen their development team but I'm sure it's packed. I think Lance will be around for a couple more years. Unless Radio Shack and Nike bail, not likely, money is not going to be a problem.

The best american GC cyclist of the foreseeable future is TeeJay Vangarderen. He's not with Radio Shack, but all of his buddies are or will be (Phinney, King, Mannion. etc.) so if The Shack can lure him away from HTC, then they'd have a big name for the tour. That said, if Phinney becomes the next big sprinter they could be a stage win team instead of a GC team. A few of those guys might be able to eventually hang top 20 in the tour.