Team information | ||
---|---|---|
UCI code | RSH[1] | |
Registered | United States | |
Founded | 2010 | |
Disbanded | 2011 | |
Discipline(s) | Road | |
Status | UCI ProTeam | |
Bicycles | Trek | |
Key personnel | ||
General manager | Johan Bruyneel | |
Team manager(s) | Dirk Demol | |
|
Team RadioShack was a professional road bicycle racing team, with RadioShack as the title sponsor, the creation of which was announced on July 23, 2009. Lance Armstrong co-owned and led the team, which raced in the Grand Tours and the UCI ProTour. The team was managed by Capital Sports and Entertainment, an Austin, Texas sports and event management group that also manages the Trek-Livestrong U23 development cycling team and that ran the former Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team.[2]
Johan Bruyneel was Team RadioShack's initial overall manager[3] and Dirk Demol was the directeur sportif.[4][5] Former Discovery Channel cyclists Viatcheslav Ekimov from Russia and José Azevedo from Portugal was also part of the managerial squad.[3][6] Armstrong said that the team would promote the Livestrong anti-cancer campaigns of his Lance Armstrong Foundation, and will also be sponsored by Trek Bicycle Corporation, SRAM Corporation and Nike, Inc. sportswear.[7][8][9]
The team ceased to exist in its current structure from the end of the 2011 season as Radioshack returned their World Tour Licence to the UCI. Their two main sponsors, RadioShack and Nissan, moved their sponsorship to Team Leopard Trek. Sporting Director Johan Bruyneel moved to the newly named RadioShack-Nissan team along with several of the current Radioshack riders. While effectively a merge, there is some debate between the two teams as to the nature of the agreement. Radioshack described it as a merge,[10] while Flavio Becca, owner of Leopard Trek stated that his team was continuing, and simply taking over Radioshacks sponsors, and some of their riders.[11] The new team was registered in Luxembourg with the UCI.