2011 Team RadioShack season

2011 roster

Ages as of January 1, 2011.

;Riders who joined the team for the 2011 season

;Riders who left the team during or after the 2010 season

One-day races

Before the spring season and the races known as classics, Team RadioShack was active in the Vuelta a Mallorca series of single-day races. In the Trofeo Inca, Hermans figured into a winning breakaway that formed 40 km from the finish, on the Puig Major climb. When this group's lead stretched to a minute with only 10 km, it was clear they would stay away. Hermans stated that he had not felt confident going into the sprint, but he proved fresher than breakaway companions Arkaitz Durán and Xavier Tondó, winning the race.{{cite web

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 monument race, Paris–Roubaix. After a breakaway group of ten riders had first gone clear right about the time the cobbled sectors first began, Rast worked his way into a chase group which formed at the Arenberg sector. His group caught up with the leaders, and while '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.{{cite web |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110412011131/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/paris-roubaix-his/results |archive-date = 2011-04-12 |url-status = dead

The team also sent squads to the Trofeo Palma de Mallorca, Trofeo Cala Millor, Trofeo Deià, Trofeo Palmanova, the Classica Sarda, 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,"{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103205924/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/more/01/22/cycling.lance.armstrong.tour.down.under.ap/index.html#ixzz1CAeSIZTL |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 3, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121001052839/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/santos-tour-down-under-upt-1/stage-6/results |archive-date = 2012-10-01 |url-status = dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110121024013/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/santos-tour-down-under-upt-1/stage-1/results |archive-date=2011-01-21 |url-status=dead 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. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122104514/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/santos-tour-down-under-upt-1/stage-2/results |archive-date=2011-01-22 |url-status=dead 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. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125171328/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/santos-tour-down-under-upt-1/stage-5/results |archive-date=2011-01-25 |url-status=dead He finished the race in 28th place. 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.{{cite web

With a squad made up of younger riders, the team was quite successful at the Three Days of West Flanders stage race. Sergent won the prologue time trial, with Rosseler and Bewley in second and third ten seconds off his pace. Kwiatkowski also clocked in ten seconds off Sergent's time, for fifth on the day.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313074051/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/69th-paris-nice-his/stage-5/results |archive-date=2011-03-13 |url-status=dead He took the overall race leadership with the result, eleven years after he had won Paris–Nice overall.{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110314171045/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/69th-paris-nice-his/stage-6/results |archive-date=2011-03-14 |url-status=dead Klöden was unable to make back any time in the last two road stages, finishing second overall. The squad also took the team award. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110316173218/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/69th-paris-nice-his/stage-8/results |archive-date=2011-03-16 |url-status=dead At Critérium International in March, Klöden won the stage 3 time trial, but managed only 22nd overall, having lost time in both the mountainous and flat road race stages.{{cite web

The team entered the Tour of the Basque Country in April with defending champion Horner heading their squad, along with Klöden. Both finished near stage 1 winner Joaquim Rodríguez, with Horner a second back and Klöden tied on the same time.{{cite web

Always a race which had been a target for Johan Bruyneel-led teams, Team RadioShack sent a strong squad to the Tour of California, headed by Horner and three-time winner Leipheimer. After the first stage was canceled and the first two to be run both favored sprinters, the team showed strongly in stage 4. This stage ended with a summit finish on Sierra Road. Horner won this stage 1'15" clear of any other riders, a massive time gap in a race which has historically been decided by seconds. |url-status=dead The 2011 Tour returned to 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 '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. |url-status=dead The two captains dominated stage 7 to Mount Baldy. They broke away from the lead group with 3 km 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. |url-status=dead 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. |url-status=dead

The team also won lesser classifications at the Volta ao Algarve, Volta a Catalunya, the Eneco Tour, the Tour of Utah, the Tour du Poitou-Charentes, the Tour de Wallonie-Picarde, and the Tour of Beijing. 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

Footnotes

References

References

1. (28 August 2010). "Manuel Cardoso heads to RadioShack for 2011". VeloNation LLC.
2. Tyler, Richard. (11 October 2010). "Philip Deignan signs for RadioShack". Future Publishing Limited.
3. (23 December 2010). "McEwen, Hunter join Team RadioShack". Future Publishing Limited.
4. (4 September 2010). "Jesse Sergent, Manuel Cardoso and Michael Kwiatkowski to join Team RadioShack for 2011". Competitor Group, Inc..
5. (12 October 2010). "Nélson Oliveira signs for Team RadioShack". Future Publishing Limited.
6. (26 January 2011). "Impey signs with MTN Qhubeka". Future Publishing Limited.
7. (7 October 2010). "Johan Bruyneel backs doping defense". [[ESPN]].
8. Farrand, Stephen. (13 October 2010). "Rubiera signs off at the Tour of Lombardy". Future Publishing Limited.
9. Wynn, Nigel. (20 December 2010). "Quick Step sign Steegmans, unveil 2011 kit". IPC Media Limited.
10. Westemeyer, Susan. (30 October 2010). "Vaitkus returns to Astana for 2011". Future Publishing Limited.
11. Westemeyer, Susan. (20 February 2011). "Martin takes stage and overall title". Future Publishing Limited.
12. Farrand, Stephen. (27 March 2011). "Contador secures overall victory". Future Publishing Limited.
13. Mehl, Cathy. (14 August 2011). "It's a TEAMS Win for The Shack". [[Lance Armstrong Foundation.
14. Weislo, Laura. (14 August 2011). "Leipheimer wins Tour of Utah". Future Publishing Limited.
15. Weislo, Laura. (26 August 2011). "Dowsett takes solo victory on final stage". Future Publishing Limited.
16. (2 October 2011). "McEwen seals overall victory in Tournai". Future Publishing Limited.
17. (9 October 2011). "Galimzyanov gets green with final stage win". Future Publishing Limited.