Team RadioShack’s 2011 Giro D’Italia campaign got off to a great start when they finished second to HTC-HighRoad in the race’s opening Team Time Trial. The team had gone to Italy with the objective of placing 25 year old Tiago Machado in the top 10 of the General Classification. However, team manager Johan Bruyneel had to change their plans when Machado lost time early in the race due to bad luck and some positioning errors.
“Tiago was in a couple crashes and lost quite a bit of time, especially during the Strade Bianche stage. But beyond the crashes, he made some beginner errors," he said on his website. "It was his first three week race and he expended a lot of energy in stages where it's better to stay quiet.”
Since signing with Team RadioShack from a small Portuguese team in 2010, Machado has been very impressive in week long stage races. He has finished in the top 10 of every stage race he has taken part in up until now.
“It's a very big transition from a week long race to a three week race and Tiago found that out. It's not a criticism of him; it's just the nature of having experience in these situations," he continued. "If there is one thing I want Tiago to take away from the Giro, it's the experience. He's young, he'll learn from it and he'll be better next time. He's still a great talent and we have not lost confidence in him.”
The American team also lost experienced sprinter Robbie McEwen on stage 9 when he failed to make the cut off limit. One of the positives they can take from the race is Yaroslav Popovych’s aggressive approach to it. The Ukrainian is leading the Fuga Pinarello classification for the most amounts of kilometers accumulated in a breakaway.
The ongoing Lance Armstrong saga has also affected the team’s time at the Giro. There were earlier reports of the team hotel being searched and that Bruyneel fled the day before without packing his luggage.
“I got a good laugh from that one, but it's not funny when people start believing that. My trip to Dubai was planned well in advance," he explained. "It just so happens that the next day our trucks and hotel were searched and it was noted that I left. As reported, there was nothing ... the same as in past years. Period.”