Team RadioShack off to a rocky Tour debut
On July 23, 2009, Lance Armstrong announced the formation of American-based Team RadioShack, co-owned by Armstrong, the team’s leader. The team is formed mostly of former members of Team Astana, including Armstrong, who placed third with Astana in last year’s Tour de France, where teammate Alberto Contador won the race.
"To compete for an American team with the world's top cyclists, supported by the best coaches and staff—I couldn't be happier," Armstrong told BBC sport.
RadioShack led the team classification after the prologue and the first stage. But when Armstrong finished 55th after his crash in the first stage and fell to 18th overall after the group finish in the fourth stage, the team dropped to to 11th overall. The hope for an eighth Tour victory for Armstrong and a breakout RadioShack performance was lost.
Lance Armstrong, 38, has said that he will be racing his final Tour. Already this year he has finished second at the Tour of Switzerland and third at the Tour of Luxembourg, but he will need the help of a strong supporting cast to catch up
"I think now you just got to pick up a few guys and focus on them” he told reporters. “It's easy to look at the GC and say, 'Gosh, there's 17 guys ahead of you. But for the most part the vast majority of them won't be there [at the end]."
Yaroslav Popovych, 30, is an all-around rider. Winner and world champion of the U23 Paris-Roubaix, he performs well in the classics as well as uphill. He was the third in the Tour of Italy 2003 and the Best Young Rider in the Tour de France 2005. He now prefers to work for other riders. He is an indispensable teammate in the mountains. Riding alongside Lance Armstrong in his comeback season, cameras positioned on his bike captured the race from mountain-top to finish lines.
Levi Leipheimer, 36, is one of the best time trialists in the world. He won the Bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics and placed in the top 10 overall in the Tour in 2002, 2004 and 2005. Levi recorded his first Tour stage win in 2007 and landed himself on the podium while helping Alberto Contador win the overall.
Chris Horner, 38, three-time USA Cycling National Racing Calendar Champion, is returning from a difficult 2009, during which he broke his left hand in the Tour of Spain, his collarbone and a rib in the Tour of the Basque Country and his left leg in the Tour of Italy.
Jani Braijkovic, 26, was the world time-trial champion in 2004. The 2007 Tour de Georgia title was his first win as a professional. He won the Best Young Rider Classification at the Tour de Georgia in 2006 and 2007, was the runner-up in the Tour of Lombardy in 2008, and wore the Gold Jersey at the 2006 Vuelta a Espana during Stages eight and nine.
Sergio Paulinho, 30, is a time trial specialist, having won the national championship in 2008, and he won the Silver Medal in the 2004 Olympic Road Race Games in Athens, Greece.
Andreas Kloden, 35, was the runner-up in the Tour de France in 2004 and 2006.
Gregory Rast, 30, is a three-time national road champion 2002, 2004 and 2006. Gregory is a strong tall rider made for the classics and was the perfect teammate in the 2009 Tour de France won by his team. The 2007 Tour of Luxembourg win started his career as a cyclocross rider.
Dmitriy Muravyev, 30, is a three-time national champion, road race 2002, time trial 2003 and 2005. He was on the winning Tour de France team in 2009.
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