Volta ao Algarve, Stage Three – Team RadioShack on the Move

Tiago Machado

Half way through the Volta ao Algarve in southern Portugal, the racing weather improved from the rain and cold from earlier in the week, with some sunshine and drier roads welcoming the riders today.  Stage Three gave us a glimpse of the excitement and battling that may very well play out time and again this season, as Team RadioShack (TRS) brings multiple weapons to race the flats and hills alike in 2010.

Friday’s 174 km stage from Castro Marim to Alto do Malhão saw Alberto Contador of Team Astana, in his first race of the season, attack from the bottom, according to Levi Leipheimer’s post.  But it wasn’t without a challenge that El Pistolero took the stage and the lead in the General Classification (GC) as well. Three Shackers were close behind as Contador crossed the finish line.

Tiago Machado, just eleven seconds off the winning time, took second for the stage, and is now second in the GC; Levi Leipheimer was another eleven seconds back, took third for the stage, and is now third in the GC; and Andreas Kloden finished in tenth place for the stage, and is now ninth in the GC.  With three riders in the GC top ten, TRS is in fine team standing, and demonstrates plainly that The Shack will be a force to be reckoned with regardless of the names on the Start List throughout the season.

Of particular note was Tiago Machado’s effort for the day.  As team director Jose Acevedo commented to Yahoo! Euro Sport, perhaps the “most important thing is that Tiago proved he has worked hard and that he has a place in this big team. Tiago was nervous before the season. Now we see there was no need for it.”

Acevedo’s got a good perspective too, having been one of the team directors for the season opening Santos Tour Down Under in South Australia last month.  Seeing this particular Team Radioshack squad come to the line, with Machado rising to the occasion, has to give Acevedo and the rest of The Shack’s management cause for cautious optimism on their prospects for stage wins (and more), as the 2010 ProTour speeds up.

On the down side for TRS, both Tomas Vaitkus and Gert Steegmans have suffered injuries from falls this week and both pulled out of the race as a result.  Neither riders’ injuries should keep them sidelined for too long however, and we’ll hopefully see them both back on a scheduled start list soon.

With three days to go in southern Portugal, look for TRS to contend through the balance of this tour of Algarve, and continue sharpening their edge for the next race on the schedule (Giro di Sardegna) and soon into the Spring Classics.  Go Shack GO!

By Jeff Ludlum, staff writer

See the Volta ao Algarve results here