Matthew Busche confirmed Wednesday morning that he has signed on to race the 2010 season with Lance Armstrong’s Team RadioShack.
The move will take the Wauwatosa cyclist from the local Tour of America’s Dairyland to the top level of international cycling and possibly the Tour de France, in one short year. Busche, 24, will be racing with cycling stars Armstrong, Chris Horner, Andreas Kloden and Levi Leipheimer on the squad formed earlier this year.
Team manager Johan Bruyneel, who guided Armstrong to seven Tour de France victories, contacted Busche after the Wauwatosa West alum raced to a surprising fifth place finish in the U.S. Pro Cycling Championship in August.
“I was definitely not expecting to be receiving a call from RadioShack or have a chance to ride for RadioShack after a half-season of racing pro for Kelly Benefits,” Busche said in a phone interview.
“Lance is obviously an icon in the sport and Levi and Chris Horner have years of experience,” he said. "I’m going to do my best to soak it all in and learn from them and Johan as much as I can.
“There’s probably not a lot of better people out there to learn from tactically and strategically as far as racing sense goes. It’s probably one of the best opportunities a cyclist could have.”
Busche plans to finish up the semester studying physical therapy at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, then follow the schedule for his development role on one of the world’s elite cycling teams. Step one will be to sort through the emotional whirl and magnitude of the leap through the cycling ranks.
When he begins training with Armstrong et al, he will be just two years removed from racing for the ISCorp team in the Wisconsin Cycling Association series.
“You only get an opportunity to ride for a team like this once in a lifetime,” he said. “You have to take that leap of faith.”
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