2010 Vuelta a España wildcards

[tubularglue]

the Earth shuddered with Lance's incoming call, while the UCI management team were digging a new donation storage vault.

 

[hfer07]

Our 2010 Team goals were the Tour de France and the Tour of Spain. That’s why - together with the need to perform well in the Tour of California – we skipped the Tour of Italy this year. ”

 

[auscyclefan94]

Well, I'm a little ****ed Skil and Vacansoleil missed the boat again!! Both teams have been riding very well lately...and deserve to be there. I'm not sure what Vac has to do to get an invite...except pay to be pro tour...and Skil has been winning fairly regularly as well...

I do feel sorry for them. They are the victims in this NOT the Shack.

exactly..

my response

@johanbruyneel I thought the season ended in july? whats wrong,
did they not offer lance £2m to ride for a week before pulling out?
@johanbruyneel besides, vaconsoleil didnt get invited either and fans would rather see them there than radioshack
about 1 hour ago via web

i await being blocked by jb with anticipation

im now in an argument with an idiot livestrong fan who thinks the two spanish wildcards cant be any good cos they didnt go the giro or the tour.. theres no arguing with some people

Get into em Dim!

Just like in his book...

GOLD!


Just my view on this. Radioshack screwed themselves over when they pulled out of the giro. That does them no favours in the eyes of the vuelta organisers. I agree they would of had a squad which would of challenged overall but their attitiude to certain races does them no favours. It is their own fault. Feel sorry for Vacansoleil.

 

[Parrot23]

Maybe Vuelta folks are ticked off at RS's selective use of races and doesn't consider them as credibly targeting the Vuelta (re Bro's point on F1 analogy; also Aussiecyclefan above on Giro).

Levi L. has been strangely quiet this year, but surely this can change. He's had a much slower schedule, with TOC late this year. Very different season for him. His whole year has a different profile. He upset Bertie a lot in '08 when he very nearly unseated him for the win (esp. in the final TT, if I remember) at the Vuelta. Maybe getting old.

Kinda weird the Vuelta folks didn't look at Brak's performance at Dauphine and the clear indicats. from RS it's unlikely he'll ride the Tour.

Yep, Vino is credible.... Makes McQuack look like an intellect-tool and Lance like a nun. Lance should get Vino on his legal team as the lead attorney.

 

[nowhereman]

This non invite is simply stating: "You should have quit while the quittin' was good". I guess Unipublic had no intention of paying RS and LA huge sums of money just to attend their event(like the Giro did last year, and look what it got them, on the streets of Milan), so they didn't even offer RS a spot. This ought to be pretty humbling for Bruyneel, And if it's not, he's a bigger fool than anybody suspects. I get a feeling that the TdF is going to show us just how "competitive" the top squad of the RS team is, let alone a secondary squad.
RS needs to eat some humble pie, based on their amount of non-results this season. Enough with this nonsense that Every race from Jan. to June is "prep for the TdF.

 

[Beech Mtn]

Considering Radioshack's main riders and management appear to be under investigation in two countries (US and France), it is no huge surprise that they weren't wanted at the Vuelta. Who wants to invite a team that may have most of its big guns banned by late summer for doping offenses (either by the OCLAESP investigation or the Novitzky investigation)?

 

[auscyclefan94]

http://johanbruyneel.com/news_articles/pressreleasenoninvitevuelta.html

This is hilarious. JB is making it his personal mission to ensure this doesn't happen again to any ProTour team. He is taking this to heart rather heavily. Someone needs to remind him what AIGCP is for

JB is such a great guy. Protecting the rights of cyclists shows him to be one of the great "Cyclist Rights Activists" of all time.

 

[richwagmn]

Maybe Vuelta folks are ticked off at RS's selective use of races and doesn't consider them as credibly targeting the Vuelta (re Bro's point on F1 analogy; also Aussiecyclefan above on Giro).

Levi L. has been strangely quiet this year, but surely this can change. He's had a much slower schedule, with TOC late this year. Very different season for him. His whole year has a different profile. He upset Bertie a lot in '08 when he very nearly unseated him for the win (esp. in the final TT, if I remember) at the Vuelta. Maybe getting old.

Kinda weird the Vuelta folks didn't look at Brak's performance at Dauphine and the clear indicats. from RS it's unlikely he'll ride the Tour.

Yep, Vino is credible....

I agree with this. Levi has proven he could contend. And what about Horner? No TDF invite last year, no Giro this year and now no Vuelta. Guy hasn't got a lot of years left.

I'm not crying for RS, but there does seem to be more behind this than meets the eye.

 

[Parrot23]

I guess Unipublic had no intention of paying RS and LA huge sums of money just to attend their event(like the Giro did last year....)

That would be a good reason. It would be pretty arrogant for RS/Lance, whatever, to demand appearance money, esp. based on their results this year. If they did, this Vuelta snub is well-deserved.

Edit: per Richwagon, there's definitely something more here. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It's heartbreaking for Horner. Mind you, he's getting paid. It's a job, and lots of teams would want him as a DS: he would be absolutely superb at that (his tactical sense).

Also, per Beech Mountain above, the Vuelta folks might be forward-looking and really smart about it. There may be federal charges in a few months. Bang in the middle of the Vuelta would be terrible for them.

 

[nowhereman]

And what about Horner? No TDF invite last year, no Giro this year and now no Vuelta. Guy hasn't got a lot of years left.

He should have thought about that before he jumped aboard the Geritol Train!

 

[tubularglue]

Considering Radioshack's main riders and management appear to be under investigation in two countries (US and France), it is no huge surprise that they weren't wanted at the Vuelta. Who wants to invite a team that may have most of its big guns banned by late summer for doping offenses (either by the OCLAESP investigation or the Novitzky investigation)?

I agree, and they did not do any favors by snubbing the Giro to race in California.

Radioshack is in the UCI's back pocket. RCS, Unipublic, ASO tried to break from their stranglehold more than once.

Radioshack might get a surprise whey they arrive in France next month. Who knows ?

 

[Publicus]

Your bias has taken you beyond sense, you sound like troll. Even if Radioshack brings almost no riders participating in the TdF you could still have a team that looks like this:

Zubeldia
Brajkovic
Rubiera
Machado
Muravyev
Paulinho
Vaitkus
Hermans
Lequatre

But you have to assume kloden, ll or horner will also make the squad.

I would say this would definitely be a top 10 team at the vuelta maybe even top 5. Most of the other big name riders are just there to win a stage and are going to be tired from a long racing season that already included at least one grand tour. Radioshack could bring a true GC team with depth.

But go ahead and tell us of the 22 teams attending the vuelta who is going to bring a better squad? How many?

All 22 will bring a better squad since Radio Shack is not invited.

Look, I think everyone will concede that Radio Shack has enough talented riders to ride the Vuelta, no question. Similarly, though Radio Shack had enough talented riders to ride the Giro but refused to do so because they didn't deem it as important as the ToC or the TdF. The Vuelta was never on Radio Shack's radar. It was busy trying to sell the world that the ToC was somehow superior to every other GT except the TdF. They can't be surprised that race organizers want teams that value the race. There are only so many times one can hear that the ToC and the TdF are the only races that matter before folks (race organizers, fans) believe you.

 

[flicker]

Watch me pull a rabbit outta my hat. Nothing up my sleeve. Presto Shack in the Vuelta.

 

[BroDeal]

Watch me pull a rabbit outta my hat. Nothing up my sleeve. Presto Shack in the Vuelta.

Gosh, Bullwinkle. That trick never works.

 

[offbyone]

All 22 will bring a better squad since Radio Shack is not invited.

Look, I think everyone will concede that Radio Shack has enough talented riders to ride the Vuelta, no question. Similarly, though Radio Shack had enough talented riders to ride the Giro but refused to do so because they didn't deem it as important as the ToC or the TdF. The Vuelta was never on Radio Shack's radar. It was busy trying to sell the world that the ToC was somehow superior to every other GT except the TdF. They can't be surprised that race organizers want teams that value the race. There are only so many times one can hear that the ToC and the TdF are the only races that matter before folks (race organizers, fans) believe you.

I don't understand this point of view. There is no doubt that the giro is in a whole different league compared to the ToC. But that doesn't mean that radioshack can't make another race more important. They had the 3 time winner on their squad and they have an american sponsor. So naturally, they push the ToC. What is wrong with that? It is their right. It shouldn't be considered a snub, just a choice and one made for reasonable reasons.

The Giro should have nothing to do with the Vuelta. They are during opposite ends of the race season. I never once heard the radioshack team say they didn't want to race the vuelta. This is bs and supposition. Sure, they haven't put a bunch of hype into it, but tell me other then caisse de'pargne what team did?

 

[richwagmn]

He should have thought about that before he jumped aboard the Geritol Train!

Although you can't blame any rider from last year's Astana team for jumping ship. How long would you go without being paid for your job? As I understand it, Astana still hasn't paid all it owes. In my mind, you sign a legal contract, you fulfill it.

 

[Ferminal]

I don't understand this point of view. There is no doubt that the giro is in a whole different league compared to the ToC. But that doesn't mean that radioshack can't make another race more important. They had the 3 time winner on their squad and they have an american sponsor. So naturally, they push the ToC. What is wrong with that? It is their right. It shouldn't be considered a snub, just a choice and one made for reasonable reasons.

The Giro should have nothing to do with the Vuelta. They are during opposite ends of the race season. I never once heard the radioshack team say they didn't want to race the vuelta. This is bs and supposition. Sure, they haven't put a bunch of hype into it, but tell me other then caisse de'pargne what team did?

I don't think it would've been a blow, if they went to the Giro. TRS certainly could've got a Giro invite if they wanted to, but **** happens and now they're only riding one GT.

Euskatel, FdJ and BMC are all only riding two GTs and seem to be happy with that arrangement.

If you want to get an invite, you need to send the right signals to organisers. Unfortunately this doesn't always guarantee you an entry (Vacansoleil). I'm not sure how many good signals TRS were sending the Vuelta organisers, and no matter where you sit, the accusations against them are bad signals. BMC announced last year that they were lobbying for an invite to the Giro and Tour, getting these invites isn't a walk in the park.

At the end of the day there are 10-15 teams competing for around 20 spots (total wildcards from the 3 GTs), as such it doesn't take much for the organisers to put a cross next to you.

 

[Anonymous]

I guess Unipublic had no intention of paying RS and LA huge sums of money just to attend their event(like the Giro did last year, and look what it got them, on the streets of Milan), so they didn't even offer RS a spot.

funny that.. it was shortly after i tweeted to JB "were they not willing to pay £2m appearance money" that i got blocked

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

“The organisers said we didn’t have a strong team on a sporting level, that other teams are better."

This is the kind of thing that gets posted on the bulletin board in the locker room.

Right next to this picture.

 

[BroDeal]

I imagine the "shock" that Bruyneel felt was similar to what Simeoni felt when he was not invited to the Giro despite being the Italian national champion. Somewhere in Italy there is an Italian with a big smile.

 

[offbyone]

I don't think it would've been a blow, if they went to the Giro. TRS certainly could've got a Giro invite if they wanted to, but **** happens and now they're only riding one GT.

Cofidis, Euskatel, FdJ and BMC are all only riding two GTs and seem to be happy with that arrangement, no one can say TRS didn't have the opportunity to participate in two GTs this season.

If you want to get an invite, you need to send the right signals to organisers. Unfortunately this doesn't always guarantee you an entry (Vacansoleil). I'm not sure how many good signals TRS were sending the Vuelta organisers, and no matter where you sit, the accusations against them are bad signals. BMC announced last year that they were lobbying for an invite to the Giro and Tour, getting these invites isn't a walk in the park.

At the end of the day there are 10-15 teams competing for around 20 spots (total wildcards from the 3 GTs), as such it doesn't take much for the organisers to put a cross next to you.

This is all true and I agree with most of what you say. There are certainly a lot of teams that are hoping to make those extra spots. But if the vuelta wants to get bigger it needs to invite the best teams, not the most popular teams internally.

I still really don't see why the giro participation should be linked to the vuelta. Would the giro organizers even want their b team? Would race fans be cheering if TRS participated in the giro with their b squad? I wouldn't think so. And again I don't think it is fair to complain that an american team wanted to go to the biggest american race even if it is during a much bigger race in europe. If anything the vuelta organizers should see that radioshack has a deep team and is only racing one GT, they will bring motivation and good riders...

Maybe JB is too cocky to present his case and no doubt there is something to be said for that. But the way I see it, the Vacansoleil decision really brings the truth out. This decision was based purely on politics, not talent or motivation. Unfortunately for the vuelta this is a lose-lose proposition. Radioshack would have brought a better team than most and more attention=money to their race.

 

[KazakhNeRider]

Also, @Beech Mtn - interesting comments from Popo, never seen them before..

Yaroslav Popovich: I feel depressed, when Giro is passing by

 

[Anonymous]

JordanWCole
@johanbruyneel Sorry you guys got left off the list...
you still remain a class act, though. Thanks for what you are doing for cycling.
about 3 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone in reply to johanbruyneel

global_explorer
Just got @johanbruyneel 's tweet. Politics... I
support Johan on whatever he does to shake up the sport--right to its foundations if nec.
about 7 hours ago via web

snigger

 

[TourOfSardinia]

RS/ThePiti factor?

Just in case no one else has mouthed this (18 pages is a lot to check!)

Could the RS non-selection be simply a sign of the Spanish Cycling Maf*a showing a bit of muscle after the Valverde business: if piti loses his wins so shall RS lose some too ???

 

[ladyvader]

Gosh, Bullwinkle. That trick never works.

I love that. Well played.