With the 2009 cycle road racing season about to heat up in Europe with the Spring Classics imminent, here is the low-down on Team Silence-Lotto.
Who are Team Silence-Lotto?
Team Silence-Lotto is a Belgium based team. The title sponsors are a manufacturer of an anti-snoring pharmaceutical product (Silence) and the Belgian national lottery (Lotto). Other sponsors include Specialized, Skoda and Q8.
The team's manager is Belgian Geert Coeman, whilst the sporting manager is Marc Seargeant assisted by, among others, Dirk De Wolf and Italian Roberto Damiani.
Who are Team Silence-Lotto's Riders?
Not surprisingly for a Belgian team there is a strong presence of Belgian riders, with no fewer than 19 of the 27 riders on its roster coming from Belgium.
However, the team's main star is Australian Cadel Evans, who has been runner up in the last two Tour de France. Evans has been widely criticised in the past for an unadventurous riding style, tending to follow others rather than attacking, but this may be due to a lack of team support, too often he has found himself isolated during key moments of the race.
Other stars on the roster are Leif Hoste and Phiippe Gilbert, both of whom have pedigree in the classics, Hoste having placed second in the Tour of Flanders and Gilbert having won minor classics like Het volk and Paris-Tours.
Team Silence-Lotto's full roster:
Aerts, Mario; Brandt, Christophe; Cretskens, Wilfried; D'Hollander, Glenn; De Greef, Francis; Dekker, Thomas; Delage, Mickael; Dockx, Bart; Elijzen, Michiel; Evans, Cadel; Gardeyn, Gorik
Gilbert, Philippe; Hoste, Leif; Jacobs, Pieter; Kaisen, Olivier; Lang, Sebastian; Ljungblad, Jonas; Lloyd, Matthew; Roelandts, Jürgen; Scheirlinckx, Staf; Sentjens, Roy; Stubbe, Tom; Van Avermaet, Greg; Van den Broeck, Jurgen; Vanendert, Jelle; Vansummeren, Johan; Wegelius, Charles
How Did Team Silence-Lotto Perform in 2008?
The team has seen a steady decline in performances in recent years, going from 22 victories in 2006 to 16 in 2008.
However, second places in the Tour de France, Fleche Wallonne and the Dauphine Libere represent respectable performances, unfortunately they were all thanks to one rider – Cadel Evans.
What Are the Targets for Silence-Lotto in 2009?
The team is in danger of getting a reputation of ever being the bridesmaids, never the bride. Second place in the Tour, two years running (and on both occasions by seconds rather than minutes) is a mighty achievement, but will be lost in the annuls of history. No-one ever remembers who came second.
Once again the main target for the team will be the Tour and the Northern Classics, although arguably for the Tour the team is weaker this year with Yaroslav Popyvich, the rider signed last year to try to help Evans in the Tour, having left after just one, disappointing season. With the return of Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador to the Tour's peloton and the continued emergence of Andy Schleck, it is likely that Evans has already posted his best performances in the Tour.
Elsewhere, possibilities in the Northern Classics have improved with the signing of Gilbert, although a podium position rather than the top step is more likely.
References
Cycle Sport Magazine, April 2009
Giles Belbin - I am a part-time freelance writer with a regular series in a UK County magazine. I have a love of many sports but my particular passion is ...
