Tour, Cascade and more

I have to say congratulations to all the riders finishing the Tour de France. What an exciting three weeks it has been, resulting in a well-deserved winner. Between Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans we had two great champions battling for the biggest race of the year. You may like one more than the other, but you have to admire how they coped with adversity throughout the Tour. Some might argue that Schleck left too much energy in his solo break with the finish on the Galibier, but Evans did take his responsibilities and limited the damage that would later earn him the top prize in Paris. Others might think that Schleck lost the Tour on a rainy downhill, but those types of descents make up part of the three-week adventure. All riders have their strengths and weaknesses. Evans minimized the weaknesses and got the most out of his strengths.

It will be interesting 12 months from now, with Alberto Contador concentrating 100 percent on the Tour. I think that he left a lot of energy in the Giro this year, not knowing with any degree of certainty if he was going to be able to race in the Tour. Just to see him attack in the Alpe d’Huez stage shows you that only first counts for him. Nonetheless, I would like to congratulate team BMC and their support and belief in Evans.

Unfortunately, my friends at Team RadioShack were not that lucky with all the crashes and mishaps during the first half of the Tour. But just as with Contador, I know that Johan Bruyneel will be back next year with his knives between his teeth and standing there with a competitive team.
As for us? Team Trek-Livestrong had a good Cascade Cycling Classic. Unfortunately, we lost Dale Parker on the first stage due to a massive and spectacular crash at 70 km/h but he walked away with “only” a bruised calf and a big scare. We were present every day and were really getting ourselves ready for the end of the season.

Sadly, and with great disappointment, it is at this point that I must address our “unselection” by the UCI for the Tour of Utah and Tour of Colorado. Although we are clearly within the rules allowing us to compete in both races, the UCI decided after receiving a complaint from Team RealCyclist.com that it would not be ethical for the Trek-Livestrong and Chipotle Development squads to race against Team RadioShack and Team Garmin-Cervélo. Some have apparently forgotten that the future of cycling starts at the development teams and that these up-and-coming riders are happy to have a chance to race against top professional cyclists. I can guarantee that my riders would have raced aggressively in an effort to make a good impression on the top-level teams in hopes of earning a spot in the UCI ProTour peloton. I would like to thank all the teams that emailed me or personally showed me their support in the hope that reason would prevail and that the UCI would let us start in those two stage races. Without sponsors supporting the youth of the sport there is no future for cycling. I hope that the UCI will see and acknowledge that at least.