Apr 29th, 09. Kiwis Sam Bewley and Jesse Sergent line up for their first big race with their Trek-Livestrong team alongside team owner Lance Armstrong.
Trek Livestrong and Lance Armstrong are racing in the Tour of Gila, New Mexico starting tonight NZ time.
21 year old Bewley and 20 year old Sergent joined the Trek-Livestrong team in Boulder Colorado straight after the completion of the World Track Championships in Poland this March. "It's a big opportunity and we want to make sure we make the most of it. We've been in contact with Taylor [Phinney] right through the championships here and I am sure it's going to be a fantastic experience" said Sergent who won a bronze medal in the Men's Team Pursuit.
The Trek-Livestrong development team is a new project initiated by Lance Armstrong to help develop the next generation of young cyclists. Armstrong joined forces with Axel Merckx Olympic medallist and son of all-time great Eddy Merckx as his Team Director. The two worked with US national champion and US Olympian Taylor Phinney to jointly pick the eleven strong team that includes Phinney. This is an amazing opportunity for the young kiwis to step up and experience life inside a pro peloton with the best of the best as mentors.
"I think we have for sure some of the best riders, but those are all diamonds that have to be shaped" says Merckx in a short Trek documentary about the team [below].
Bewley and Sergent have spent the last month adjusting to their new life and the opportunities for training at altitude, "Climbed toward 3000m, hard to breathe up there eeekkk! Magnolia climb....undecided if ill ever do it again. Haha." joked Bewley as he shares his tales on the social network site Twitter.
Lance in his Livestrong gear (c)RoadCycling.co.nz
In an effort to support Lance's historic return to professional cycling and the launch of worldwide cancer campaign, the team will proudly wear LIVESTRONG on their jerseys, helping to spread awareness for the global cancer fight.
Team Owner Armstrong was planning on racing alongside his young team at the Gila this year as preparation for the Giro d'Italia. However those plans were in disarray when the UCI stepped in and barred his Astana Team from racing . They were enforcing rule 2.1.009 which states "only the UCI continental teams of the country, regional and club teams, national teams and mixed teams may participate in national events.
UPDATE: The UCI have today (29th April) made Astana aware of their own loophole that allows three riders of a pro team to race in neutral jerseys. Armstrong has confirmed that he will have his first race after his crash and subsequent collar bone fracture in the Castilla y León (Spain) stage race on March 23.
Chris Horner, who like Armstrong fractured his collar bone and a rib in the Tour of the Basque Country on April 9 will also return to racing in the Gila. Three time Tour of California and recent Castilla y León champion, Levi Leipheimer, will also participate. Leipheimer stated, "Lance and I are psyched to race the Gila, its great preparation for Europe, and we know this race will be challenging. There is a hell of a lot of uphill." The trio will race in Mellow Johnny's jerseys.
"I'm excited to get back to competitive racing. The recovery training has been going well but nothing compares to getting back into the bunch and racing," said Armstrong on his first trip to the Tour of Gila.
Kiwi Sam Bewley is also more than ready for the startline, "Getting ready for the first race with the team, Trek-LIVESTRONG. Looking forward to finally getting amongst it!" he twittered.
The Tour of the Gila is known as one of the USA's most challenging early season stage races, its a five day hill course beginning April 29th. Like many events in 2009, the Gila was facing financial challenges until SRAM stepped in and took over the title sponsorship. The Gila Race Leader's Jersey will now appear in SRAM's traditional RED color.
The Gila is renowned for its tough climbs, hot weather, and fast professional fields, the 2009 version is expected to be no different. Bewley and Sergent aren't the only kiwi's facing up to the Tour of Gila challenge, in total seven kiwis will be at the start line:
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Apr 29th, 09. Kiwis Sam Bewley and Jesse Sergent line up for their first big race with their Trek-Livestrong team alongside team owner Lance Armstrong.
