Bewley joins Armstrong's crack team

Rotorua Olympic bronze medallist Sam Bewley has ridden his way into the professional ranks, signing with Lance Armstrong's team RadioShack.
Currently at a Cycling NZ training camp in Invercargill in preparation for November's world champs in Australia, 22-year-old Bewley is "over the moon" about his two-year contract with RadioShack.
"It doesn't get much better than signing with basically the best team in the world," Bewley told The Daily Post from Invercargill yesterday. "It's a massive opportunity."
His signing with the American team boosts the number of Kiwi riders currently in the professional ranks to five, a group which also includes Rotorua's Julian Dean.
Bewley, who took up mountainbiking at the age of 12 and progressed to road and track riding, still has the next Olympics in London in sight, but now has plenty of hard work ahead of him as his apprenticeship with RadioShack begins.
The opportunity is a dream come true for the talented former Rotorua Boys' High School student who admits there's a sense of disbelief that he's already made it into professional ranks.
"I didn't think I'd go pro at this age but I always dreamed of it happening one day. There's no point being in a sport if you don't dream and don't believe you can make it.
"It's all pretty exciting and with such a team, it's even bigger."
Bewley and fellow young talent Bjorn Selander were signed for RadioShack from Armstrong's Under-23 development squad, Trek-Livestrong, the first two to make the progression to the Texan's new professional team.

"It will be a step up for both of them in terms of competition but they've been consistent and very strong this year," Trek-Livestrong director Axel Merckx said.
 Bewley describes himself as a "Jack of all trades and master of none" in riding terms - a "work horse". It's a description with which his proud father Ken Bewley would agree.
"He's strong and powerful, like a George Hincapie - big and strong, good at setting rides up and getting others to the finish, looking after the team leader. I could see Sam doing that," he said.
"There's no doubt he's a good rider [and] I think he's earned his place.
"I'm overjoyed because of all the hard work he's put in. He's never faltered, never thought he couldn't make it ... now suddenly, it's here for him."
His son has no illusions about the hard work ahead of him if he is to succeed as a professional. He expects to join his team of 25 for a training camp in the United States in January but said his permanent base would be in Europe, possibly Southern France.
"The first few months especially will be hard and it will take time to adapt but I'm ready to take it on," Bewley said.
"I'll be unknown to the team and they'll try me out in all sorts of races to see where I fit in. My goal for the next year is to learn as much as possible from the best and develop, so maybe the following year I can look to results.
 "Riding the Tour de France is the ultimate - it's every cyclist's dream. But RadioShack is set up for Lance to win the Tour de France and there are a lot of great riders in the team. It's not really going to be a possibility for me for the next couple of years," he said.
"Everyone has to do their time before they get that opportunity - that's sport and life too, really."