It looks like Lance Armstrong’s first ride last year at the Italian grand tour will also be his last.
Last week at the end of the first Team RadioShack training camp in Tucson, Johan Bruyneel posted the team’s 2010 race schedule on his FaceBook page. There’s been no other confirmation of this, but based on that schedule, the team is going to skip the 2010 Giro d’Italia.
In 2009, Lance Armstrong stated early on that he’d do the Giro, in part because Italy was one of three countries where his Livestrong foundation was targeting its global campaign, and it made perfect sense to race there and help highlight the effort.
The Giro also ended up being absolutely crucial to Armstrong’s ride at the Tour de France. When he crashed at the Vuelta Castilla y Leon in March and broke his collarbone, Armstrong had to re-think his entire preparation for the Tour. The Giro became not only Armstrong’s testing ground, but the one place he could go to get the kind of volume of racing – and intensity – he needed to prepare for the Tour.
But it also saw him become a figure of minor controversy. It was at the Giro when Armstrong stopped talking to the press and communicated solely through his Twitter account and online videos. That happened in part because Armstrong was singled out by Giro director Angelo Zomegnan for criticism after Lance Armstrong was reportedly part of a cohort of riders who helped kibosh the Milano Show circuit race.
The Giro is big,but not as big as the tour de france. Radioshack riders can win both. Andreas,Levi,Lance,etc. Do it,you can win both.
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I was disappointed to read that Team RadioShack is not planning on riding the Giro in 2010. The Giro is second only to the Tour de France in terms of Stage race prestiege and it is unfortunate that Radioshack will not be competing. I had the opportunity to attend the last week of the Giro this year and it was incredible! I agree with Patrick, Team RadioShack has enough talent to field 2 winning squads, with Levi, Lance and Chris Horner leading the charge at the Tour of California and Andreas, Popo, Chechu and Jani, leading the Team at the Giro!
Hope to see Team RadioShack back in the Giro d’ Italia in 2011!
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Maybe because the winners’ shirts are pink? You ever think about that?
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The Giro is too hard this year. Armstrong would be totally spent if he climbed those brutal mountains. Wouldn’t have anything left for TDF. The 2010 Giro is far superior than the 2010 Tour de france in steepness.
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