2010 BMC Racing Team season

2010 roster

Ages as of January 1, 2010

†Though listed on the team's roster, Nydam is not cleared to race and did not ride competitively in 2010.

;Riders who joined the team for the 2010 season

;Riders who left the team during or after the 2009 season

One-day races

Spring classics

Cadel Evans won the La Flèche Wallonne, riding past Alberto Contador in the final meters of the race to take the victory. Evans also finished 5th in the Liège–Bastogne–Liège.

Additionally, George Hincapie placed 4th in the Gent–Wevelgem and 6th in the 2010 Tour of Flanders, with Karsten Kroon finishing 9th in the Amstel Gold Race

Fall races

Stage races

BMC raced the Tour Down Under as the first non-Pro Tour team (aside from the Australian national team) to receive an invite. This was likely to allow Evans to ride with the rainbow jersey in his home nation.{{cite news |url-status=dead |url-status=dead

Evans also finished 3rd in the Tirreno Adriatico, and 6th in the Critérium International.

Chad Beyer won the Sprints (Points) Classification at the 2010 Tour de Romandie, having held the Jersey for the entire race.

BMC had a successful Tour de Suisse, Steve Morabito finishing 4th overall, with Marcus Burghart winning the Points Classification and Mathias Frank winning both the King of the Mountain and the Sprints Classifications.

Grand Tours

Giro d'Italia

Alessandro Ballan stated in October 2009 that it was a certainty that he would start the Giro d'Italia after missing out on it in 2009 when he wore the rainbow jersey. This was an indication that the team was in line for an invite, which they received.

Evans led the squad and wore bib number one by virtue of being the reigning world champion. |url-status = dead |url-status = dead |url-status = dead |url-status = dead

After the next two stages went to breakaways, stage 7 was one that proved important in the race's overall picture. It was long, and contested partly on unpaved roads, and happened to be run on a day with very heavy rain. After overnight race leader Vincenzo Nibali experienced a mechanical issue that necessitated a bike change, Evans and Damiano Cunego responded to an attack from Vinokourov, and stayed away to the stage's finish in Montalcino. Evans won the three-man sprint for the stage, with a 2-second gap.{{cite web |url-status = dead |url-status = dead

On the first of the Giro's many mountain stages in its final week, Evans rode well and stayed with the leaders through the Monte Grappa climb. He did not follow Nibali's aggressive descent of the mountain, and finished with Ivan Basso and Michele Scarponi 23 seconds back. This result moved Evans back into the top ten overall for the first time since the huge time loss in stage 11.{{cite web |url-status = dead |url-status = dead |url-status = dead |archive-date=2010-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620033217/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/93rd-giro-ditalia-gt/stage-19/results |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100623042628/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/93rd-giro-ditalia-gt/stage-21/results |url-status=dead

Evans revealed afterward that he had ridden the second half of the Giro while suffering from a stomach bug. On the night before stage 11, he went to bed with a 38 C temperature and rode the stage despite team doctors urging him to retire from the race. He finished the race despite persistent stomach problems which interfered with his diet.{{cite web

Tour de France

BMC entered their first ever Tour de France with a squad again led by Evans. He had found in 2009 that he had performed far better in his second Grand Tour of the season (3rd in the 2009 Vuelta a España as opposed to 30th in the 2009 Tour de France) and thus entered the Tour with high expectations. Hincapie was also part of the squad, in his 15th consecutive participation in the race. The Tour was to be BMC's second and final Grand Tour in 2010, as team president Jim Ochowicz stated that riding all three was "not doable" due to the size of the team's staff and ridership and that they would not seek a place in the 2010 Vuelta a España.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704035044/http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/38022368/ns/sports-tour_de_france |archive-date=2010-07-04 |url-status=dead |access-date=2010-09-30

After a strong showing in the individual time trial which kicked off the Giro d'Italia, Bookwalter also showed well on day one of the Tour, in its prologue. He finished in 11th place, after having been provisionally in the top five for most of the day, clocking in 35 seconds off the winning time of Fabian Cancellara. Evans was 23rd, a further four seconds back.{{cite web |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100704102925/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/97th-tour-de-france-gt/prologue/results |archive-date = 2010-07-04 |url-status = dead |url-status = dead |url-status = dead

In stage 9, after the first rest day, Evans fell precipitously from the top of the standings. He lost eight minutes to Contador and Schleck and six minutes to the majority of the race's elite, occupying 18th place after the day.{{cite web |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110304064049/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/97th-tour-de-france-gt/stage-9/results |archive-date = 2011-03-04 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100815033234/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/97th-tour-de-france-gt/stage-20/results |archive-date = 2010-08-15 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100819075548/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/97th-tour-de-france-gt/stage-15/results |archive-date = 2010-08-19 |url-status = dead

Season victories

References

References

1. Frei was dismissed from the team on April 27 after testing positive for and admitting to EPO usage
2. [http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/head-trauma-may-end-nydams-career Head Trauma May End Nydam's Career]