Lance Armstrong signs Belgian super talent Ben Hermans to Radio Shack

Ben Hermans, who currently rides for the Topsport Vlaanderen team will ride for Lance Armstrong and the Radio Shack Cycling team for the next two seasons. Hermans, a first year pro from Limburg, will join compatriots Gert Steegmans (Katusha) and Sebastien Rosseler (Quick Step) to be the third Belgian on the new team that is expected to be managed by Johan Bruyneel.

Hermans had a contract with Mercator-Topsport Vlaanderen than ran through next season, but the Radio Shack squad was apparently able to buy him out. Hermans, a climber who can also make strong pulls in the peloton laid down some strong results for a neopro , apparently making an impression on Armstrong and Bruyneel.

Hermans, who has a bachelor’s degreee in biomedical sciences, said, “The transfer to Radio Shack is a dream.”

Herman’s teammate Jan Bakelants is also heading to the big leagues, with a ride on Silence-Lotto. That’s really the ultimate goal of teams like Topsport Vlaanderen. The list of riders who came from the team to move on to bigger and better things is long and includes names such as Tom Steels, Stijn Devolder, Wilfried Cretskens and Jelle Vanendert.

Tags: Gert Steegmans, johan bruyneel, Lance Armstrong, Quick Step, radio shack, radio shack cycling, Sebastien Rosseler, Silence-Lotto, Stijn Devolder, topsport vlaanderen