U.S. Postal Tour Team Finalized: Peña Placed on Reserve List
By Anthony J. Cerretani
June 24, 2004 Lance Armstrong's 2004 USPS Tour de France team was announced Tuesday with six of last year's team members making the final cut. Notably absent from this year's roster is Colombian star Victor Hugo Peña. Peña was the leader in Stages 4 and 5 in the 2003 Tour, and is known for his climbing prowess. Last year, he became the first Colombian to ever take the yellow jersey at the Tour de France.
The 29-year-old cyclist says that the decision wasn't a big surprise, but he is disappointed nonetheless.
"At the moment, I feel like when you split with your girlfriend," he said. "The only thing I can think now is that the director has the last decision. For me, I think I'm in good shape, better than ever, but I can not do anything. He's the director and he decides the team."
Peña is profiled in Outside's July 2004 issue as part of a package of articles about this year's Tour de France. In Bill Gifford's story, "Mountain Grown," the challenges and difficulties of Peña's role as a cycling domestique are explored, and the rollercoaster ride of successes and setbacks the Colombian rider has experienced this year are presented at length.
USPS cycling director Johan Bruyneel's decision regarding team member selection for the 2004 Tour was based both on rider experience and current physical conditioning.
"There were two guys who were in better shape than him," Bruyneel said of Peña. "The last two spots were between Peña, Joachim, Pavel Padrnos and (Benjamin) Noval and from those four, based on the performances of the last two races, I picked Noval and Padrnos."
It's not uncommon for cycling team directors to make last-minute changes to their Tour de France rosters, based on the performance of team members in races leading up to the Tour.
And Peña is well aware of the fine company he keeps:
"We were four good riders, Pavel Padrnos, Benoit Joachim, Benjamin Noval, and me," he said. "So I know it's difficult for Johan to select two guys for those two places. It's really hard work for the director. Of course I feel a little disappointed, a little pissed, a little sad, not to be on the team this year when maybe Lance can win for the sixth time."
U.S. Postal Tour team members returning to the Tour this year will be Americans George Hincapie and Floyd Landis, Russian Viatcheslav Ekimov, Padrnos of the Czech Republic, and Spaniards Manuel Beltran and Jose Luis Rubiera. Noval, also of Spain, and Azevedo, of Portugal, are both first-year team members and Noval will be making his first appearance at the Tour.
The most notable loss for Postal this year was Roberto Heras, who left the team to join Liberty Seguros in December 2003. While his departure left some major shoes to fill, Bruyneel acquired Azevedo, formerly one of Joseba Beloki's lieutenants on team ONCE, to take up the slack. It is an acquisition Bruyneel thinks will help fill the gap left by Heras. It was difficult but we found a very good replacement in Azevedo," said Bruyneel. "He has not exactly the same characteristics but he's a solid climber and a solid time trialist. I think he's a very good replacement."
Although Peña is currently listed as a reserve member of the USPS Tour team, he'll head home to Colombia in the next couple of weeks to prepare for upcoming races like the Vuelta de España— a race Bruyneel expects him to participate in—and, later this summer, the Olympics, with his Colombian team.
For Peña, there is a silver lining to all of this: His absence from the Tour could prove beneficial in terms of his training for the Olympics. The Tour, he thinks, would take its toll.
"If I were there, I would have to work every day for Lance, for the team, so I'd have no time for recovery," he said. "I don't really know if this would be the best preparation for being100 percent at the Olympics. Now I'm going to have 40 days of training and then I have the Tour of Denmark, which should be good preparation for the Olympics."
Peña still has his eye on the Tour de France, but in the future he wants to make sure he's guaranteed a position on a strong cycling team.
"For sure I would like to go back," he said. "Now I have to put my mind on next year and the next Tour de France. I want to be a big rider next year."
At 29, Peña thinks he has five or six more years of cycling left— plenty of time to do his country proud.
"I would like to have the opportunity to show to my country, Colombia, the rider I think I am," he said. "In Colombia, people like cycling. The fans are waiting. They are expecting more from me."
Peña is not ruling out moving on from Postal—as much as he likes the team — since the team is currently transitioning to a new 2005 sponsorship with Discovery Channel, and he has yet to renew his contract.
"You never know," he said, regarding the prospect of leaving the team. "For example, maybe now the team wants to change the sponsor, and I don't know if Johan is going to offer me a new contract for next year. We haven't spoken about that yet. But I really want to keep training with this team and racing. After the Tour de France, Johan is going to have more news and I will know then if they want me, or if I will have another opportunity."
