Last year Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner all took part in the Giro d’Italia, but this time round it is possible that their team could miss out on the race entirely.
The move of the Amgen Tour of California to a May timeslot overlaps with the Giro, and with the American race being a big priority for RadioShack’s team along with its sponsors, the top emphasis will be on that event.
According to team manager Jonan Bruyneel, the squad may opt not to send anyone to Italy. “It is not decided yet whether or not to do the Giro, that is up in the air,” he told Biciciclismo. “We are talking with the organisers RCS.
“Clearly, the Tour of California is an important race for us and we will take the strongest team we can. The point is that if we participate in the Giro, we don’t have people to dispute the general classification.”
Missing the Giro altogether would seem to be an unusual decision in that the team’s 2010 roster has 24 riders. If the Amgen Tour of California follows the same pattern as last year, teams will be eight riders deep; this would leave a possible 16 from which to select a nine-man squad for the Giro.
One option is for Bruyneel to target stage victories rather than the overall classification in Italy, perhaps relying on sprinters such as Daryl Impey and attacking riders like Yaroslav Popovych. It remains to be seen if this will be considered.
This year’s Amgen Tour of California runs from May 16 – 23, while the Giro d’Italia starts on May 8 and finishes three weeks later.
The Belgian has however confirmed that RadioShack will take part in the Vuelta a España. “We don’t have a definite line-up for the team; as always, you have to wait for the Tour and see who finishes strong," he said.
Lance Armstrong is expected to ride just one Grand Tour in 2010, the Tour de France. That may change if he decides to ride the world road race championship in Australia, as many riders will be using the Vuelta as preparation.