Dubbed the Clean Machine at its launch, the philosophy of the Linda McCartney team differs from all others within professional cycling. Sponsored by the vegetarian food company established by Paul McCartney's late wife, each employee undertakes to completely abstain from all meat products upon signing for the team. Riders, team management and mechanics all follow this policy, which is intended to show that top performance is possible while leading a vegetarian lifestyle.
It's an unusual concept, and one which has brought plenty of publicity thus far. According to press officer John Deering, this approach - together with the Beatles' continued popularity in Italy - ensures attention for the team which extends beyond their performances on the road. "People like our style of racing - we always try to contribute to a race and have performed well in Italy in races such as Tirreno Adriatico," says Deering.
"Having household names like Olympic champion Pascal Richard and Max Sciandri has undoubtedly helped too. But we also want to show that it is possible to be top athletes, to live a vegetarian lifestyle and be successful. People find that interesting."
Equally important is the clean reputation of the team especially after recent drug scandals in the sport. According to team manager Julian Clarke, being backed by a sponsor which advocates healthy, clean living means that there is an onus on the team to do things ethically at all times. "We simply have to do things correctly. The McCartney name has a clean image and that is something that we have to be really, really strong with. As much as we get a lot of publicity from the name, someone out there is always willing to try to shoot it down, so we have to make sure that everything is correct.
"If that is to the detriment of big results, well then so be it. But, you know, we started to get results in the Tour of Romandie last week (where sprinter Tayeb Braikia recorded one third-place finish and two fourths on stages). They are not prolific wins, but we are starting to show ourselves."
Being realistic, both Clarke and Deering accept that as long as some cyclists within the peloton continue to reach into the medicine cabinet, there may be a ceiling on the results they can achieve.
But, according to Deering: "If it came down to a choice, I would rather that we had no victories in races rather than one positive test or one guy winning through cheating. That is the bottom line."
