Exclusive pictures from first gathering of 2011 campaign
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Last-minute adjustments before rolling out in Calpe. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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The majority of the riders put in a little over two hours on the road during the first day of the training camp. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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New signing Michal Kwiatkowski joins RadioShack from Caja Rural. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Yaroslav Popovych is one of the mainstays of the RadioShack team. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Yaroslav Popovych shares a joke ahead of RadioShack's first ride on their Calpe training camp. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Andreas Klöden is the most experienced rider in the RadioShack line-up. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Andreas Klöden grabs a Snickers for the miles ahead. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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What to wear? Yaroslav Popovych weighs up the options in Calpe. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Yaroslav Popovych has had a difficult winter. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Team RadioShack about to hit the road in Calpe. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Johan Bruyneel delivers a quick pep talk before the training ride. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Sergio Paulinho (RadioShack) primed for action in Calpe. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Philip Deignan enjoyed the sun of Spain after the snow of Donegal. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Andreas Klöden was keen to get started. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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The RadioShack team rolls out in Calpe. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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After you. The RadioShack riders exit the hotel car park. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Philip Deignan about to get in some miles under the Spanish sun. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Haimar Zubeldia at the RadioShack training camp. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Geoffroy Lequatre (RadioShack) is hoping to ride the Tour de France in 2011. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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The RadioShack mechanics prepare the bikes ahead of the team's first training ride. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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The last fine-tuning before the riders come down from breakfast. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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RadioShack's armada of Treks. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Philip Deignan's Cervelo gets a tune-up after arriving from Donegal. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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RadioShack's base for the next week in Calpe. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Sebastien Roessler picks out his bike ahead of the group ride. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Philip Deignan must wear Cervelo colours until December 31. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Roommates Philip Deignan and Andreas Kloden stock up on food before the off. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Ireland's Philip Deignan was meeting his RadioShack teammates for the first time in Calpe. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Fumiyuki Beppu is in his second season at RadioShack. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Andreas Klöden checks on his SRM meter. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Andreas Klöden was impatient to get started. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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RadioShack team manager Johan Bruyneel in Calpe, Spain. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Fumiyuki Beppu ready for action at the RadioShack camp in Calpe. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Fumiyuki Beppu and Geoffroy Lequatre fill their pockets before the training ride. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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Andreas Klöden and Philip Deignan were in a group that put in an extra hour before the rest of their teammates got out on the road. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
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The Rock of Ifach overlooks Calpe, RadioShack's December training base. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
The RadioShack team gathered in Calpe, Spain this week for its first training camp ahead of the 2011 season. And while Lance Armstrong and the other American riders didn’t make the trek across the Atlantic, there was still plenty of talent on show, including several new arrivals at the team for 2011.
Snow and freezing temperatures have wreaked havoc on the training schedules of professional riders all over Europe in recent weeks and so many of the RadioShack squad were determined to make the most of their time under the Spanish sun to get in some serious training miles.
New signing Philip Deignan had been forced to ride a turbo trainer in recent days in Ireland and he was among a select group of riders to get in an extra hour on the road on first morning of the training camp. Andreas Klöden recently spent some time in the Middle East with Jan Ullrich but was also keen to take advantage of the conditions. He stayed out alone to put in some extra kilometres in the afternoon.
Janez Brajkovic was less fortunate and had to wait a little longer before sampling the delights of training with the sun on his back. Weather conditions and a string of flight delays saw the Slovenian arrive a day later than his teammates. Haimar Zubeldia and Thiago Machado had more straightforward journeys from elsewhere on the Iberian peninsula, while Yaroslav Popovych seemed happy to be back on his bike in Calpe after his troubled off-season.
Team manager Johan Bruyneel kept a low-key presence at the camp, running an eye over the fitness of his European-based riders as the team prepares for the beginning of the post-Lance Armstrong era.
Like last season, RadioShack will continue to ride SRAM-equipped Treks in 2011. Having secured a ProTeam licence for the coming season, RadioShack should also be present at all of the Grand Tours. The Calpe training camp was also an opportunity for the team to begin planning its calendar for 2011.
Cyclingnews has an exclusive gallery of images from the Calpe training camp here.
Barry Ryan is European Editor at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
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