Team RadioShack - First Training Camp for this Powerhouse Team

With cycling becoming more and more of a global sport, Team RadioShack's camp in Tucson, AZ, in early December is likely the only time that the entire team will be on U.S. soil for the 2010 racing season. I was invited to attend the media day, which brought journalists from around the U.S. and the world, because Lance was giving a press conference and introducing his new team.

Training camps require a ton of logistical planning: setting up interviews, finalizing team equipment adjustments, arranging travel for riders from 16 different nations, meeting sponsors' needs, setting rider schedules for the upcoming season, scouting appropriate training routes, dealing with the constant public curiosity of the team, making a comfortable environment for the riders to start to get to know each other, etc. The camp actually served more as a team-building, meet and greet exercise than it did as a place for the riders to log long hours in the saddle. Though seven of the riders will kick-off their racing season at the Tour Down Under in Australia from January 17 - 24, most of them still have a bit more time to gradually build their fitness for the racing season which lies ahead.

Here's a picture of Chris Horner and me with Levi in the Astana kit right behind and between us.

I had the opportunity to join the team on one of its training rides - a short and easy ride of just over two hours. One highlight from the ride was spending a considerable amount of time chatting with Chris Horner. It's always fun to see Chris, and he's a rider who has interesting insights into the world of the professional peloton. Chris had an unusual season in 2009 - he's had great fitness but also numerous injuries: crashing out of the Tour of CA with a knee injury, crashing out of the Tour of the Basque Country with a broken clavicle, crashing out of the Tour of Italy with a hairline fracture in his leg and rounding out the season with a broken hand in the fourth day of the Tour of Spain. The amazing thing about Chris is he shrugs it all off and keeps looking forward. He's really an eternally positive guy, who loves to race his bike and deals with all of the ups and downs along the way with little complaining - even when his Astana team from this season (2009) got months behind paying salaries. He controls the things he can (like coming to Team RadioShack to move to a more stable team and work environment), and makes the best of the things he can't - like keeping a positive attitude when he's injured. He's also quite a character, and one can't help but laugh when hanging out with Chris.

I also got the chance to catch up with Lance Armstrong on the bike as well that day. It was great to ride with him again, after being teammates way back in 1991 on the Subaru Montgomery team. One thing about Lance that most are aware of is how exceptionally busy he is. But most of you probably don't know that he constantly emails and texts while on his bike. Spending ten minutes riding shoulder-to-shoulder with him was a real treat. I realized at one point when we were bumping elbows and shoulders, gesturing, etc., that I was right back in that place of some 18 years ago - two guys out doing what they love - riding their bikes - and talking about many things cycling related. At one point, I realized how rare it is to get to rub elbows with him - literally - because of the inherent risks of doing so.

We led the RadioShack train back into town, and as we approached the resort, the ride ended. With that, we said goodbye and he slipped through a side door to avoid the people who invariably are waiting for him to try to get a picture, an autograph, to say hi or just get a chance to see the man who is trying to beat the odds, and win his eighth Tour de France in 2010. By the way, when I asked Lance if he could "put it together" (referring to winning the Tour in 2010), he told me he wouldn't be out here if he didn't think he could.