2011 Team RadioShack season

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
2011 Team RadioShack season
Manager Johan Bruyneel
One-day victories 2
Stage race overall victories 10
Stage race stage victories 16
Previous season

The 2011 season for

UCI ProTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour
.

The team merged with Leopard Trek for the 2012 season, with the resultant team based in Luxembourg, meaning this formation is considered defunct after the 2011 season.

While the team had 28 wins in 2011, and showed well enough to briefly be the leading team in the UCI World Tour rankings, they were nearly invisible in the Grand Tours, the races which have defined manager Johan Bruyneel's managerial career. A Tour de France besieged by crashes and injuries led to Haimar Zubeldia in 15th place being their best finisher, the worst showing for a Bruyneel-led team at the Tour in five years. The team's principal successes were the three major stage races in the United States, the Tour of California, the Tour of Utah, and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. Team RadioShack fielded the overall winner in all three events, Chris Horner in California and Levi Leipheimer in Utah and Colorado. The team also won seven other stage races, easily the most of any major team on the season.

2011 roster

Ages as of January 1, 2011.

Rider Date of birth
 Lance Armstrong[N 1] (USA) (1971-09-18)September 18, 1971 (aged 39)
 George Bennett[N 2] (NZL) (1990-04-07)April 7, 1990 (aged 20)
 Fumiyuki Beppu (JPN) (1983-04-10)April 10, 1983 (aged 27)
 Sam Bewley (NZL) (1987-07-22)July 22, 1987 (aged 23)
 Janez Brajkovič (SLO) (1983-12-18)December 18, 1983 (aged 27)
 Matthew Busche (USA) (1985-05-09)May 9, 1985 (aged 25)
 Manuel Cardoso (POR) (1983-04-07)April 7, 1983 (aged 27)
 Philip Deignan (IRE) (1983-09-07)September 7, 1983 (aged 27)
 Ben Hermans (BEL) (1986-06-08)June 8, 1986 (aged 24)
 Chris Horner (USA) (1971-11-10)November 10, 1971 (aged 39)
 
Robert Hunter
 (RSA) 		(1977-04-22)April 22, 1977 (aged 33)
 Ben King (USA) (1989-03-22)March 22, 1989 (aged 21)
 Andreas Klöden (GER) (1975-06-22)June 22, 1975 (aged 35)
 Michał Kwiatkowski (POL) (1990-06-02)June 2, 1990 (aged 20)
 Markel Irizar (ESP) (1980-02-05)February 5, 1980 (aged 30)
 Levi Leipheimer (USA) (1973-10-24)October 24, 1973 (aged 37)
Rider Date of birth
 Geoffroy Lequatre (FRA) (1981-06-30)June 30, 1981 (aged 29)
 Tiago Machado (POR) (1985-10-18)October 18, 1985 (aged 25)
 Jason McCartney (USA) (1973-09-03)September 3, 1973 (aged 37)
 Robbie McEwen (AUS) (1972-06-24)June 24, 1972 (aged 38)
 
Dmitriy Muravyev
 (KAZ) 		(1979-11-02)November 2, 1979 (aged 31)
 Nelson Oliveira (POR) (1989-03-06)March 6, 1989 (aged 21)
 Dale Parker[N 2] (AUS) (1992-05-12)May 12, 1992 (aged 18)
 Sérgio Paulinho (POR) (1980-03-26)March 26, 1980 (aged 30)
 Yaroslav Popovych (UKR) (1980-01-04)January 4, 1980 (aged 30)
 Grégory Rast (SUI) (1980-01-17)January 17, 1980 (aged 30)
 Sébastien Rosseler (BEL) (1981-07-15)July 15, 1981 (aged 29)
 Ivan Rovny (RUS) (1987-09-30)September 30, 1987 (aged 23)
 Bjørn Selander (USA) (1988-01-28)January 28, 1988 (aged 22)
 Jesse Sergent (NZL) (1988-07-08)July 8, 1988 (aged 22)
 Evgeny Shalunov[N 2] (RUS) (1992-01-08)January 8, 1992 (aged 18)
 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) (1977-04-01)April 1, 1977 (aged 33)

One-day races

Before the spring season and the races known as classics, Team RadioShack was active in the

Xavier Tondó, winning the race.[11] Later in February, Hunter won the field sprint finish to the second day of the Tour de Mumbai, restyled for 2011 as two one-day races in a similar vein to the Vuelta a Mallorca. The 11-lap 79 km (49 mi) criterium was originally meant to be a lap longer, but after the start was delayed for over an hour due to amateur riders and photographers crowding the course, it was shortened from the planned length of 108 km (67 mi).[12]

Spring classics

Much like the Bruyneel-led Astana teams, Team RadioShack was not a major player in the spring classics. They did, however, attain a notable result in the season's third

Arenberg sector. His group caught up with the leaders, and while Garmin–Cervélo's Johan Vansummeren soloed to victory, Rast stayed with the next group on the road through to the end of the race. He, Fabian Cancellara, and Maarten Tjallingii contested the sprint for second place. Cancellara took second with Tjallingii third, leaving Rast just off the podium in fourth.[13] Thanks to this result and the team's strong showing at the Tour of the Basque Country stage race, they became the number one team in the UCI rankings after Paris–Roubaix.[14]

The team also sent squads to the

Milan – San Remo, Gent–Wevelgem, the Tour of Flanders, the Brabantse Pijl, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège
, but placed no higher than 12th in any of these races.

Fall races

The team also sent squads to

Paris–Brussels, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, Paris–Bourges and the Giro di Lombardia
, but finished no higher than 12th in any of these races.

Stage races

The Tour Down Under, the first stage race of the season, was Armstrong's last professional race. Despite claiming that he was "definitely not flying halfway around the world to sit in the bunch,"[15] Armstrong only showed combativity at one moment during the race, during an ultimately unsuccessful breakaway attempt during stage 5 to Willunga.[16] He finished the race in 67th place, 6'42" down on overall winner Cameron Meyer.[17] Elsewhere, McEwen was, for a time, an overall contender in the race. He was third in the sprint finish to the first stage, with the time bonus affording him that same position in the first general classification standings.[18] The next day, a second place left him tied for first overall with Ben Swift and Matthew Goss, and gave him the ochre jersey as race leader.[19] After slipping slightly over the next two days, McEwen lost any chance at overall victory on the Willunga stage, finishing in the same group as Armstrong 1'48" down on stage winner Francisco Ventoso and the majority of the overall contenders.[20] He finished the race in 28th place.[17] At the Ruta del Sol in February, Irizar finished second in the short stage 1 time trial, mere tenths of a second behind stage winner Jimmy Engoulvent.[21] The next stage ended in a 43-rider sprint, and Engoulvent was dropped on the day's first climb, finishing nearly 23 minutes back. As a result, Irizar took the race leadership.[22] The remaining race stages were similar – stage 3 featured an 85-rider sprint, stage 4 a 90-rider sprint, and stage 5 a 33-rider sprint. Irizar finished safely in the bunch on each stage, winning the race overall by a single second over Jurgen Van den Broeck and two over teammate Leipheimer, who had similarly ridden good stage 1 time trials.[23][24] The squad also won the teams classification.[25]

With a squad made up of younger riders, the team was quite successful at the

Three Days of De Panne at the end of March. He had entered the stage as one of a great number of riders within ten seconds of pending race leader Bert De Backer. After teammate Kwiatkowski had first set a time solidly better than those which came before, Rosseler did him 14 seconds better to win both the stage and the race overall. Kwiatkowski took third in the stage and overall, while the squad earned the teams classification win.[37]

The team entered the

Giro del Trentino. He won the 13.4 km (8.3 mi) time trial by a single second over Lampre–ISD's Adriano Malori and eight over teammate Machado.[41] He cracked on the climb to Ledro Bezzecca in stage 2, however, losing six minutes and any chance at winning the race.[42]

Always a race which had been a target for Johan Bruyneel-led teams, Team RadioShack sent a strong squad to the

Solvang for its individual time trial after the race against the clock in 2010 had been in Los Angeles. Leipheimer, three times a winner on this course, could only manage second 14 seconds the lesser of Garmin–Cervélo's David Zabriskie. Horner was sixth, 51 seconds down, but still held a lead of 38 seconds over Leipheimer and over a minute against the next highest rider.[44] The two captains dominated stage 7 to Mount Baldy. They broke away from the lead group with 3 km (1.9 mi) to go to the summit and finished 43 seconds clear of any other riders. Horner allowed Leipheimer to cross the line first – though Leipheimer had won the overall at the Tour of California three times, and similarly the Solvang time trial, this was his first road race stage win at the event.[45] The two finished safely in the peloton in the finale stage, ending the race as the first two of five Americans at the top of the overall standings.[46]

The team also won lesser classifications at the

Tour de Wallonie-Picarde,[52] and the Tour of Beijing.[53] The team also sent squads to the Tour Down Under, the Giro di Sardegna, Tirreno–Adriatico, the Tour de Romandie, the Tour de Luxembourg, the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour de Pologne
, but did not achieve a stage win, classification win, or podium finish in any of them.

Grand Tours

Giro d'Italia

Tour de France

Vuelta a España

Away from competition

Merger with Leopard Trek

Riders' 2012 teams

Season victories

Date Race Competition Rider Country Location
February 8 Trofeo Inca
UCI Europe Tour
  Ben Hermans (BEL)  Spain Inca
February 13
Tour de Mumbai
II
UCI Asia Tour
  
Robert Hunter
 (RSA)		  India Mumbai
February 20 Volta ao Algarve, Portuguese rider classification
UCI Europe Tour
  Tiago Machado (POR)  Portugal
February 24 Vuelta a Andalucía, Overall
UCI Europe Tour
  Markel Irizar (ESP)  Spain
February 24 Vuelta a Andalucía, Teams classification
UCI Europe Tour
 [N 3]  Spain
March 4
Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
, Prologue
UCI Europe Tour
  Jesse Sergent (NZL)  Belgium Middelkerke
March 6
Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
, Overall
UCI Europe Tour
  Jesse Sergent (NZL)  Belgium
March 6
Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
, Young rider classification
UCI Europe Tour
  Jesse Sergent (NZL)  Belgium
March 6
Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
, Teams classification
UCI Europe Tour
 [N 4]  Belgium
March 10 Paris–Nice, Stage 5 UCI World Tour  Andreas Klöden (GER)  France Vernoux-en-Vivarais
March 13 Paris–Nice, Teams classification UCI World Tour [N 5]  France
March 24 Volta a Catalunya, Stage 4 UCI World Tour  
Manuel Antonio Cardoso
 (POR)		  Spain El Vendrell
March 27 Volta a Catalunya, Teams classification UCI World Tour [N 6]  Spain
March 27 Critérium International, Stage 3
UCI Europe Tour
  Andreas Klöden (GER)  France Porto-Vecchio
March 31 Three Days of De Panne, Stage 3b
UCI Europe Tour
  Sébastien Rosseler (BEL)  Belgium De Panne
March 31 Three Days of De Panne, Overall
UCI Europe Tour
  Sébastien Rosseler (BEL)  Belgium
March 31 Three Days of De Panne, Teams classification
UCI Europe Tour
 [N 7]  Belgium
April 9 Tour of the Basque Country, Overall UCI World Tour  Andreas Klöden (GER)  Spain
April 9 Tour of the Basque Country, Points classification UCI World Tour  Andreas Klöden (GER)  Spain
April 19 Giro del Trentino, Stage 1
UCI Europe Tour
  Andreas Klöden (GER)  Italy Arco
May 18 Tour of California, Stage 4
UCI America Tour
  Chris Horner (USA)  United States San Jose
May 21 Tour of California, Stage 7
UCI America Tour
  Levi Leipheimer (USA)  United States Mount Baldy
May 22 Tour of California, Overall
UCI America Tour
  Chris Horner (USA)  United States
May 29 Giro d'Italia, Trofeo Fuga Pinarello UCI World Tour  Yaroslav Popovych (UKR)  Italy
June 19 Tour de Suisse, Overall UCI World Tour  Levi Leipheimer (USA)  Switzerland
July 3 Tour of Austria, Stage 1
UCI Europe Tour
  
Robert Hunter
 (RSA)		  Austria Götzis
July 26 Tour de Wallonie, Stage 4
UCI Europe Tour
  Robbie McEwen (AUS)  Belgium Mouscron
August 12 Eneco Tour, Stage 4 UCI World Tour  Jesse Sergent (NZL)  Netherlands Roermond
August 14 Eneco Tour, Teams classification UCI World Tour [N 8] [N 9]
August 14 Tour of Utah, Overall
UCI America Tour
  Levi Leipheimer (USA)  United States
August 14 Tour of Utah, Mountains classification
UCI America Tour
  Levi Leipheimer (USA)  United States
August 23 USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Stage 1
UCI America Tour
  Levi Leipheimer (USA)  United States Crested Butte
August 25
Tour du Poitou-Charentes
, Stage 4
UCI Europe Tour
  Jesse Sergent (NZL)  France Châtellerault
August 25 USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Stage 3
UCI America Tour
  Levi Leipheimer (USA)  United States
Vail
August 26
Tour du Poitou-Charentes
, Overall
UCI Europe Tour
  Jesse Sergent (NZL)  France
August 26
Tour du Poitou-Charentes
, Youth classification
UCI Europe Tour
  Jesse Sergent (NZL)  France
August 28 USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Overall
UCI America Tour
  Levi Leipheimer (USA)  United States
September 29
Tour de Wallonie-Picarde
, Stage 1
UCI Europe Tour
  Robbie McEwen (AUS)  Belgium Péruwelz
October 2
Tour de Wallonie-Picarde
, Stage 4
UCI Europe Tour
  Robbie McEwen (AUS)  Belgium Tournai
October 2
Tour de Wallonie-Picarde
, Overall
UCI Europe Tour
  Robbie McEwen (AUS)  Belgium
October 9 Tour of Beijing, Young rider classification UCI World Tour  Ben King (USA)  China

Footnotes

  1. ^ Armstrong retired from the sport on February 16
  2. ^ a b c Rider joined the team on August 1 as a stagiaire.
  3. Robert Hunter, Ivan Rovny, Dimitry Muravyev, and Markel Irizar
  4. ^ The riders on the squad were Sébastien Rosseler, Sam Bewley, Manuel Cardoso, Michał Kwiatkowski, Nelson Oliveira, Grégory Rast, Bjørn Selander, and Jesse Sergent
  5. Robert Hunter, Markel Irizar, Andreas Klöden, Levi Leipheimer, Geoffroy Lequatre, and Sérgio Paulinho
  6. Manuel Antonio Cardoso
  7. Robert Hunter, Sébastien Rosseler, Sam Bewley, Jesse Sergent, Michał Kwiatkowski, Nelson Oliveira, and Grégory Rast
  8. Robert Hunter, Grégory Rast, Jesse Sergent, and Sam Bewley
  9. ^ Race held in Belgium and the Netherlands.

References

  1. ^ "Manuel Cardoso heads to RadioShack for 2011". VeloNation. VeloNation LLC. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  2. ^ Tyler, Richard (11 October 2010). "Philip Deignan signs for RadioShack". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  3. ^ a b "McEwen, Hunter join Team RadioShack". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 23 December 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Jesse Sergent, Manuel Cardoso and Michael Kwiatkowski to join Team RadioShack for 2011". VeloNews. Competitor Group, Inc. 4 September 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  5. ^ "Nélson Oliveira signs for Team RadioShack". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  6. ^ "Impey signs with MTN Qhubeka". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  7. ^ "Johan Bruyneel backs doping defense". ESPN.com. ESPN. Associated Press. 7 October 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  8. ^ Farrand, Stephen (13 October 2010). "Rubiera signs off at the Tour of Lombardy". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  9. ^ Wynn, Nigel (20 December 2010). "Quick Step sign Steegmans, unveil 2011 kit". Cycling Weekly. IPC Media Limited. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  10. ^ Westemeyer, Susan (30 October 2010). "Vaitkus returns to Astana for 2011". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  11. ^ Susan Westemeyer (2011-02-08). "Hermans prevails in Trofeo Inca". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
  12. ^ Cycling News (2011-02-13). "Hunter sprints to victory in Mumbai". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
  13. ^ Brecht Decaluwé (2011-04-10). "Van Summeren solos to gutsy victory at Paris-Roubaix". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 2011-04-12. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
  14. ^ Cycling News (2011-04-11). "Cancellara, RadioShack and Italy top UCI WorldTour rankings". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  15. The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd
    . Retrieved 2011-01-26.
  16. Time Warner. Associated Press
    . 2011-01-22. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
  17. ^ a b Les Clarke (2011-01-23). "Swift and Henderson head Sky quinella". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 2012-10-01. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
  18. ^ Les Clarke (2011-01-18). "Goss goes for gold in Angaston". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 2011-01-21. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
  19. ^ Les Clarke (2011-01-19). "Swift shifts into top gear". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 2011-01-22. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
  20. ^ Les Clarke (2011-01-22). "Ventoso takes vaunted Willunga stage". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 2011-01-25. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
  21. ^ Cycling News (2011-02-20). "Engoulvent quickest in Ruta prologue". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
  22. ^ Peter Hymas (2011-02-21). "Hivert takes sprint victory in Adra". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
  23. ^ Cycling News (2011-02-22). "Ventoso takes sprint into Jaen". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
  24. ^ Peter Hymas (2011-02-23). "Freire claims penultimate stage in Córdoba". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
  25. ^ Peter Hymas (2011-02-24). "Irizar wins Ruta del Sol". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
  26. ^ Cycling News (2011-03-04). "Sergent heads RadioShack prologue sweep". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
  27. ^ Cycling News (2011-03-05). "Degenkolb nabs second win of 2011 in Bellegem". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
  28. ^ Peter Hymas (2011-03-10). "Klöden out-sprints Sanchez to win stage 5". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 2011-03-13. Retrieved 2011-03-17.
  29. ^ "Kloden rolls back the years in Paris-Nice cycling classic". The West Australian. West Australian Newspapers Limited. Agence France Presse. 2011-03-10. Retrieved 2011-03-07.
  30. ^ Jean-François Quénet (2011-03-11). "Martin powers to time trial victory, overall lead". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 2011-03-14. Retrieved 2011-03-17.
  31. ^ Jean-François Quénet (2011-03-13). "Tony Martin secures overall victory at Paris-Nice". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2011-03-17.
  32. ^ Jean-François Quénet (2011-03-27). "Schleck defends overall lead". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
  33. ^ Cycling News (2011-03-24). "Cardoso claims sprint victory". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  34. ^ Cycling News (2011-03-23). "Contador climbs to queen stage victory". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  35. ^ a b Cycling News (2011-03-26). "Rojas sprints to stage win". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  36. ^ Cycling News (2011-03-28). "Leipheimer forced to quit Volta a Catalunya due to stomach problems". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  37. ^ Brecht Decaluwé (2011-03-31). "Rosseler wins Three Days of De Panne". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
  38. ^ Peter Hymas (2011-04-04). "Rodriguez victorious in Zumarraga". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
  39. ^ Cycling News (2011-04-08). "Freire disqualified from stage win, Gavazzi awarded victory". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
  40. ^ Cycling News (2011-04-09). "Klöden and Martin dominate closing time trial". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
  41. ^ Cycling News (2011-04-19). "Klöden takes Trentino time trial opener". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-04-26.
  42. ^ Barry Ryan (2011-04-20). "Voeckler takes victory in Ledro Bezzecca". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2011-04-26.
  43. ^ Laura Weislo (18 May 2011). "Horner conquers Sierra Road for yellow jersey". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  44. ^ Laura Weislo (20 May 2011). "Zabriskie time trials to stage win ahead of Leipheimer". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  45. ^ Jen See (21 May 2011). "Leipheimer wins on Mt. Baldy". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  46. ^ Laura Weislo (22 May 2011). "Goss finally gets his win in Thousand Oaks". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  47. ^ Westemeyer, Susan (20 February 2011). "Martin takes stage and overall title". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
  48. ^ Farrand, Stephen (27 March 2011). "Contador secures overall victory". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
  49. Livestrong
    . Retrieved 24 December 2011.
  50. ^ Weislo, Laura (14 August 2011). "Leipheimer wins Tour of Utah". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
  51. ^ Weislo, Laura (26 August 2011). "Dowsett takes solo victory on final stage". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
  52. ^ "McEwen seals overall victory in Tournai". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2 October 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
  53. ^ "Galimzyanov gets green with final stage win". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 9 October 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2011_Team_RadioShack_season&oldid=1199040175"