Team RadioShack Announces Roster for 2011 Vuelta a Espana

News & Results

08/18/2011| 0 comments
by Thomas A. Valentinsen
Andreas Klöden (right). Photo Fotoreporter Sirotti.
Andreas Klöden (right). Photo Fotoreporter Sirotti.

Team RadioShack Announces Roster for 2011 Vuelta a Espana

Three of the four Team RadioShack leaders who were hit by crashes and bad luck during the Tour de France last month are back on the bike and ready to win again.

Three of the four Team RadioShack leaders who were hit by crashes and bad luck during the Tour de France last month are back on the bike and ready to win again.

While Levi Leipheimer aims to win the USA Pro Cycling Challenge (Tour of Colorado) in the USA in the coming week, teammates Jani Brajkovic and Andreas Klöden will start as the leaders of Team RadioShack in the 2011 Tour of Spain.

2011 Tour of California champion Chris Horner is still recovering from his race-ending crash in the Tour de France and is not yet able to race.

"During the Tour de France our fans all knew that crashes got the best of us," Team RadioShack General Manager Johan Bruyneel told Roadcycling.com and Roadcycling.mobi and continued "One month later only the names of the winners stay in their minds. But part three of the 2011 cycling season starts now and it's time for us to show our real value again and to show the Team RadioShack jerseys on the podiums.

"Levi, Andreas and Jani have recovered from their injuries. They are ready to show how they could have performed in July. Cycling is not an exact science. Being in the condition of your life in July doesn't mean you will have the same form one month later. The courses are different and the other riders are different. However I am confident we can surprise again. The results of the last few weeks in Wallonie, Eneco Tour and Utah make me optimistic."

"Andreas (Kloden) is one of the most professional riders I have ever worked with," Bruyneel said when asked to comment on his two leaders for the Vuelta a Espana and their chances of finishing on the podium. "In 2011 he was never sick and he was really ready for maybe his best Tour de France ever. If his back injury doesn't flare up again, he should be able to place very high in Madrid."

"Together with Jani (Brajkovic), who showed good form last week in the Tour of Utah, he will form a dangerous duo. And don't forget Tiago Machado. Tiago learned a lot in the Giro d'Italia this year. It was a very hard Giro. Maybe a bit too hard for being his first Grand Tour, but he recovered well. Now he has no pressure on his shoulders. On the contrary, he can be the perfect team player and look for some opportunities in the mountains."

The 2011 Vuelta a Espana will be the first Grand Tour for American US Pro Champion Matthew Busche. Some cycling analysts have their eyes on Haimar Zubeldia and expect an impressive performance of him in the Vuelta, however Bruyneel did not want to comment on his form and role in the team's Vuelta line-up.

"It's going to be an interesting month of September. I look forward to it. It would be nice to offer our sponsors and all the fans an extra victory as a thank you for the trust they have put in us," Bruyneel concluded.

Team RadioShack roster for the 2011 Vuelta a Espana:
Andreas Klöden, Jani Brajkovic, Matthew Busche, Markel Irizar, Geoffroy Lequatre, Tiago Machado, Nelson Oliveira, Sérgio Paulinho, and Haimar Zubeldia.

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