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SRAM and Lance Armstrong get together again at Team RadioShack

SRAM named as equipment supplier, so what about the bikes and that Pro Tour licence?

“SRAM RED is my favourite componentry – Lance Armstrong, in fact he likes it so much that last year Armstrong invested some serious money in to the company. So no surprise then that SRAM have been announced as RadioShack's official component supplier and will provide complete drivetrain, brakes, as well as chains, cables and housing.

According to SRAM the move was institagated by Lance Armstrong “who was intent on bringing SRAM to the new team. The seven-time Tour winner prefers the lightest gruppo in the world for its firm braking, positive shifts, ergonomic fit, as well as SRAM's intelligent product development.”

They've got the drivetrain and componenets now Team RadioShack just need some bike's to hang it on although given both Armstrong and team manager, Johan Bruyneel's, long time association with Trek it will be a surprise if the US bike company which supplied all the bikes which Armstrong rode to victory in the Tour de France wasn't the chosen supplier… even if those victories weren't about the bike.

Armstrong on another bike brand might seem like an odd idea, but it should be remembered that prior to his comeback he had enjoyed a long and fruitful association with Shimano who equipped all of his Tour winning bikes.

In the meantime RadioShack are still waiting to find out whether the UCI will grant them a Pro Tour licence for next year. Earlier this week cycle sport's governing body granted licences to the Italian teams; Milram (for the 2010 season only) and Lampre (through to 2013) at the same time two French teams; Cofidis and Bbox Bouygues Télécom lost out. In the statement announcing their decision the UCI License commission said that they would: “Continue to examine the file submitted by the new American team Radio Shack. It will announce its decision at a later date.”

To some extent a Pro Tour licence is less important to a team like RadioShack than to Britain's Team Sky, with Armstrong on board and a strong supporting cast they are not going to miss out on invitations to the races that matter. According to reports from the US they have already been offered a place at next year's Tour de France and have already confirmed that they will ride the Amgen Tour of California, another Pro Tour event. All that said a Pro Tour licence would help and given that Armstrong's problems have never really been with the UCI it's a fair bet that it is a matter of when not if the UCI will grant one.

road.cc's founder and first editor, nowadays to be found riding a spreadsheet. Tony's journey in cycling media started in 1997 as production editor and then deputy editor of Total Bike, acting editor of Total Mountain Bike and then seven years as editor of Cycling Plus. He launched his first cycling website - the Cycling Plus Forum at the turn of the century. In 2006 he left C+ to head up the launch team for Bike Radar which he edited until 2008, when he co-launched the multi-award winning road.cc - finally handing on the reins in 2021 to Jack Sexty. His favourite ride is his ‘commute’ - which he does most days inc weekends and he’s been cycle-commuting since 1994. His favourite bikes are titanium and have disc brakes, though he'd like to own a carbon bike one day.

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Old Cranky | 14 years ago
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Lance admitted to riding a Litespeed painted to resemble a Trek on one of his Tours.

I'd speculate that, now that Trek haved dropped LeMond, we'll see an Armstrong/Livestrong branded top-end range of bikes from Trek and they'll be the Team RadioShack issue bikes.

Or, maybe Armstrong was the buyer of Merckx bike company when he sold recently.

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Fringe | 14 years ago
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trek?

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Tony Farrelly replied to Fringe | 14 years ago
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Fringe wrote:

trek?

No, I don't think so. I am sort of surprised that they haven't been announced as Radio Shack's bike suppliers already, not just because of Armstrong, but also because of Bruyneels long association with them too. Of course it could be that it's such a given that there is no need for any of them to make a big song and dance about it

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Fringe replied to Tony Farrelly | 14 years ago
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yep, your probably right there, about the big song and dance that is... Has the post cancer Armstrong ridden anything else but Trek, i think not. Mind you, would be good if he showed up on a Merckx like the old Motorola days.

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Tony Farrelly | 14 years ago
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He's going to need a bike to hang it all on, has he got any shares in any bike companies?

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Old Cranky | 14 years ago
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Maybe the Team RadioShack bikes will be fitted with Rockshox forks too  7

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wild man | 14 years ago
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Following Shimano's press release that they would strip the sprockets off dopers' bikes, this seems like a smart choice, as even Armstrong would find it tough to win with no drivetrain.

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Fringe | 14 years ago
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yeah so did i..i imagine his bike shop will have some sort of RadioShack connection soon as well. and vice versa. mmmm RadioShack bicycle, wonder what they would look like

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Old Cranky | 14 years ago
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I thought Armstrong was a major shareholder in SRAM?

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Tony Farrelly replied to Old Cranky | 14 years ago
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Old Cranky wrote:

I thought Armstrong was a major shareholder in SRAM?

yeah, he became an investor last year. I'll add that in to the story  1

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