RadioShack manager talks about the merger with Leopard Trek and the task of winning the Tour de France with Andy Schleck
With the merger between RadioShack and Leopard Trek – creating what is currently referred to as RadioShack-Nissan-Trek –team manager Johan Bruyneel gets the chance to work with one of the biggest Tour de France favourites in Andy Schleck. The Belgian, who guided Lance Armstrong to all seven of his Tour victories, and Alberto Contador to two of his, faces the prospect of finding the edge necessary to find a first win for the 26-year-old Luxembourger after three consecutive second places.
On the evidence of this year’s Tour especially, and all other Tour’s in general, the big task for Bruyneel and his team is to improve Andy Schleck’s performance against the clock.
“Certainly we will try to make Andy a better time-triallist,” said Bruyneel. “But let's be honest, we can make improvements, but my expectations are not for him to be a champion in this discipline. I think it will be most important for us to have a solid strategic and tactical plan. How we will approach going into the Tour, but also the strategies we will use in the race.
“If his weak spot is time-trialling then we must have him go into that stage with the best position possible and the biggest gap between him and the other contenders,” he explained. “A lot of that comes down to strategy. It's a three-week-long race, so you need to have a strategy each day that also fits into the overall three-week goal.”
For the first time in a number of years Bruyneel will find himself at the head of a team that contains genuine Classics stars. Where he has concentrated almost entirely on the Grand Tours and one-week races recently, he now has a team that can win many of the sport’s big one-day races.
“Well when you have a rider named Fabian Cancellara on the team, your team automatically becomes competitive in the one day races!” he exclaimed. “We’ve had some good Spring Classic riders in the past, but no one with Fabian’s pedigree. So it’s going to be a new experience for me to go to Flanders and Roubaix this year with one of the top favourites.
“It’s an experience [1988 Paris-Roubaix winner] Dirk Demol and I are very much looking forward to,” he added. “And we shouldn’t forget what Fabian can do in time trials. He’s won stages in the Tour, worn the Yellow Jersey, been a four-time World Champion. It’s an impressive palmares and I’m hopeful that we can add some more highlights to it in 2012.”
Many of the riders on the current Leopard Trek team have expressed disquiet over the merger of the two rosters, including Cancellara himself. This is something that Bruyneel appreciates, but he emphasises that there is nothing to worry about.
“Well I understand how they could feel this way,” he said. “You sign a contract and then one year later management changes. Whenever there are changes, whether it be in a cycling team or business, there's always some nervousness and wondering how things are going to be.
“Most people like knowing what they already know,” he explained, “so reactions like this are normal and to be expected. The media does a good job about making this into something bigger than it really is. After we have our first training camp, riders and staff will feel more at ease and comfortable.”