Lance Armstrong's Team RadioShack roster finalised

Johan Bruyneel, manager of Team RadioShack, has announced the final list of 25 riders who will ride alongside team leader and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong in the squad’s debut season next year. Some 16 different nationalities are represented in the roster.

The birth of Team Radioshack was announced by Armstrong during this year’s edition of the Tour de France, and came at a time when the relationship between the Texan and team-mate Alberto Contador, the eventual winner, had broken down irretrievably.

Bruyneel said that the final list of riders represents “a well balanced team”. He added “We have experienced riders - with some of them I worked already many years in my former teams – but we also have young talents who can develop in the perfect environment.”

Outlining the 2010 targets for the team, which will make its debut at the Tour Down Under, Bruyneel said: “Our main goal will be the Tour de France and other stage races but I am confident that, with these riders, we can perform very well in the one-day races as well. I look forward to the new season with Team RadioShack and our first training camp,” due to take place in Tucson, Arizona during the second week of December.

The Belgian, who was managing director of US Postal Service, subsequently renamed Discovery Channel, for each of Armstrong’s Tour de France victories and renewed his working relationship with the Texan when the latter came out of retirement to join Astana, said: “I am happy that our sponsors want to invest in the future of cycling.”

For their part, Texas-based RadioShack, one of the biggest consumer electronics retailers in the US, seem excited about the squad that has been put together. Lee Applbaum, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, said: "Johan and Lance have methodically assembled an enviable team of riders and staff as strong as any on the Pro Tour, and we are confident that Team RadioShack is positioned for tremendous success in 2010."

The full list of riders and key staff is as follows:

Lance Armstrong (USA)
Fumiyuki Beppu (JAP)
Sam Bewley (NZL)
Jani Brajkovic (SLO)
Matthew Busche (USA)
Ben Hermans (BEL)
Chris Horner (USA)
Daryl Impey (SAF)
Markel Irizar (SPA)
Andreas Klöden (GER)
Levi Leipheimer (USA)
Geoffroy Lequatre (FRA)
Fuyu Li (CHI)
Tiago Machado (POR)
Jason McCartney (USA)
Dmitriy Muravyev (KAZ)
Sérgio Paulinho (POR)
Yaroslav Popovych (UKR)
Gregory Rast (SUI)
Sébastien Rosseler (BEL)
Ivan Rovny (RUS)
José Luis Rubiera (SPA)
Bjorn Selander (USA)
Gert Steegmans (BEL)
Tomas Vaitkus (LIT)
Haimar Zubeldia (SPA)

Sports Manager:

Johan Bruyneel (BEL)

Sports Directors:

Dirk Demol (BEL)
Alain Gallopin (FRA)
Viatcheslav Ekimov (RUS)
José Azevedo (POR)