BMC Racing shines in its Tour debut
American-based BMC Racing was founded in 2007, but 2010 marks its first appearance in the Grand Tours, having been invited to both the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia. Already in 2010 the team has won three stage victories, six classification victories, and one overall by leader Cadel Evans.
"The team is coming to its best at the right time and although we may not have the best team in the mountains, we do have a strong team for the whole Tour," said Evans to Geelong.
Team member Mathias Frank had to drop out of the tour after he injured his thigh and broke his thumb in the prologue, preventing him from starting in the first stage, leaving them with only eight riders.
"It's a loss for the team and a loss for Mathias because the Tour de France is always a dream for every rider," said Frank’s team director John Lelangue.
As of the fifth stage of the 2010 edition, the Team stands in fifth plans, while leader Evans is in third place overall.
"The past two seasons we have grown into a strong team, and combining that with the big recruitment effort we have made this year, we expect to be competitive in every race we enter," said the team’s Directeur Sportif John Lelangue.
Cadel Evans, 33 is a two-time Tour de France runner-up and winner of the Fleche Wallonne. He has the highest Tour de France finishes for an Australian, second-place in both 2007 and 2008. At the end of the 2009 season, it was speculated that Evans was on the lookout for a new team to better support him at the 2010 Tour. Now, he will benefit from one of the strongest teams he has ever had. Standing in third place, Evans is a top contenders for the podium.
"But we're confident that we have a strong team around Cadel," said Lelangue. "We have experienced guys on the cobblestones— especially Alessandro Ballan, Marcus Burghardt and George Hincapie. We know Cadel has the ability to find his way on the cobbles, especially having been a mountain biker."
George Hincapie, 37, a longtime sidekick of Lance Armstrong, is a specialist in one-day classics and stage races. His motivation for the sport has evolved into a desire to inspire people around the world to be lead healthy, active lifestyles. He won the U.S. National Road Championships in 1998, 2006 and 2009, he was a Tour de France individual stage winner in 2005 and a race leader for two stages in 2006, he has ridden on the team of eight Tour de France champions, and he is the only cyclist that joined Lance Armstrong in all seven of his victories.
"There are cobblestones in the mix and small roads and wind and possible bad weather conditions, so it can be very hectic," Hincapie said. "I think the first week this year can blow the whole race wide open."
Alessandro Ballan, 30, the victor of the 2009 Tour of Poland, also specializes in one-day classics and stage races. Ballan has been training as a cyclist since he was eight years old. He missed the 2009 spring classics and Giro d’Italia due to illness, but won a stage of the Vuelta a España and wore the leader’s jersey for one day in 2008. He was the first Italian to win the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Three Days of De Panne, in 2007, and he captured his world title on his home soil of Varese, Italy.
"I was most worried about not returning in time to be selected for the Tour de France," Ballan said about his illness. "I had hoped to help Cadel at the Giro but was unable to participate. Now I can work 100 per cent for him at the Tour de France."
The team's Tour de France squad after Frank’s departure, includes stage winners Marcus Burghardt, 27, and Karsten Kroon, 34, stage specialist Steve Morabito, and climber Brent Bookwalter.
Tags: