Giro Wild-cards Monday

[TRDean]

let's see how many days till teams like skil are going to whine to aso for extra tour wildcard now giro has one

Well, the UCI shouldn't have made the exception...and not expect to get some whining from other teams. Why was this exception made??

 

[python]

per tuttobici the wildcard will go to:

- Acqua & Sapone (Ita)
- Androni Giocattoli (Ita)
- Colnago-CSF (Ita)
- Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli (GB)
- Geox-TMC (Spa)

(sorry if this was posted already)

 

[jaylew]

So, what happened to all the surprises? I guess the only surprise was the extra invite. Anyway, terrific news.

 

[kurtinsc]

Well, the UCI shouldn't have made the exception...and not expect to get some whining from other teams. Why was this exception made??

My guess is that without it, the Giro would not have invited a PT team. There was a lot of talk when the UCI announced that all PT teams would ride all GT's that the Giro claimed they never agreed to it.

I'm guessing maybe BMC or another PT team with a less then stellar predicted squad would have been left home without the exemption.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Well, the UCI shouldn't have made the exception...and not expect to get some whining from other teams. Why was this exception made??

because there were so many strong wildcard candidates and perhaps by not inviting either acqua or colnago a sponsor would've left. foir italy it's crisis in cycling right now so I understand.

 

[Mellow Velo]

My guess is that without it, the Giro would not have invited a PT team. There was a lot of talk when the UCI announced that all PT teams would ride all GT's that the Giro claimed they never agreed to it.

I'm guessing maybe BMC or another PT team with a less then stellar predicted squad would have been left home without the exemption.

I think your guess is spot on. The UCI papering over any potential crack in the PT agreement.
Judging from the fact that Riis is now back tracking about confirming "The Butcher" heading his team at the Giro, it was Saxo getting the Zomegnan boot.
Take out Contador and his Spanish servants and with Richie Porte Tour bound, what is left is decidedly poor.
Not much better than BMC minus Ballan.

Of course, Angelo might still turn around and say once again: "No, this roster is unacceptable."

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

My guess is that without it, the Giro would not have invited a PT team. There was a lot of talk when the UCI announced that all PT teams would ride all GT's that the Giro claimed they never agreed to it.

I'm guessing maybe BMC or another PT team with a less then stellar predicted squad would have been left home without the exemption.

could very well be the case and uci is not willing to have another fight going on

 

[The Hitch]

My guess is that without it, the Giro would not have invited a PT team. There was a lot of talk when the UCI announced that all PT teams would ride all GT's that the Giro claimed they never agreed to it.

I'm guessing maybe BMC or another PT team with a less then stellar predicted squad would have been left home without the exemption.

Most probably Vacan with the Ricco excuse used.

because there were so many strong wildcard candidates and perhaps by not inviting either acqua or colnago a sponsor would've left. foir italy it's crisis in cycling right now so I understand.

Since when do the UCI care whether cycling is in crisis or not.

 

[TRDean]

because there were so many strong wildcard candidates and perhaps by not inviting either acqua or colnago a sponsor would've left. foir italy it's crisis in cycling right now so I understand.

I totally understand as well...and agree with their decision.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

btw thank god no team type 1. I was very afraid he would invite them in.

 

[luckyboy]

Nice invites. Glad Geox are in. That is all.

 

[The Hitch]

btw thank god no team type 1. I was very afraid he would invite them in.

they do ride for a noble cause you know.

 

[Cobblestoned]

Nearly quiet everywhere. Just tiny amount of wahwahblablabla.
Not easy to achieve

Congrats, RCS !

 

[Francois the Postman]

Cool, everyone in. I hope that one day they'll surprise me and make it an 8-heads-pre-team squad race, so they can have 'em all, without breaking that 200-riders bubble.

 

[El Pistolero]

Would be funny if the UCI decided to give more points for the World Tour to the Giro than the Tour de France with the argument that the field is stronger at the Giro(and it certainly is)

 

[Angliru]

Menchov and Sastre doing short steep uphill sprints in Tireno??? Their both good in GT's, but can't ride anything else...

I hope Geox, A&S and Colnago get in and some lame ProTour team is dropped.
euskaltel for instance (do not believe anton is going te ride ftw in italy) or saxo bank (if contador doesn't ride).
Vacansoleil is just an excuse to make room for the Pozzovivo. I think that's ok, I just think Vacansoleil deserves a GT spot in the early season after missing all 3 in 2010. Riders tend to get stronger because of GT's, so early 2011 some of them should have a better autumn.

Very uncharacteristically Sastre did make the podium of GdL last year if I'm not mistaken, showing an old dog can learn new tricks. I always wondered why he didn't have better performances in the hilly classics considering his aggressive nature and climbing skills. I recall him doing much better than expected in either FW or LBL last year, actually making his presence known with a couple of attacks where before he was simply along for the ride or so it seemed.

 

[Angliru]

Double posting. My bad.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

they do ride for a noble cause you know.

From a moral perspective, their progress and good results (led by Kocjan) so far this year have been great.

From a sporting perspective, however, AeS, Androni, CSF, Farnese Vini and Geox will all bring more excitement.

 

[jaylew]

My guess is that without it, the Giro would not have invited a PT team. There was a lot of talk when the UCI announced that all PT teams would ride all GT's that the Giro claimed they never agreed to it.

I'm guessing maybe BMC or another PT team with a less then stellar predicted squad would have been left home without the exemption.

The new article seems to suggest otherwise and that all the PT teams were safe.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

they do ride for a noble cause you know.

then go do charity rides or something this is topsport and unless you have a topteam you don't deserve I don't care for what you have. if you are best rider with diabetes 1, props to you but if you are just a pro because you have diabetes 1 then that's lame in my book.

 

[Ryaguas]

Well, the UCI shouldn't have made the exception...and not expect to get some whining from other teams. Why was this exception made??

I think that the exception was made cuz this year is Italy's 150th year of the reunification... so is a very important year for all the italians

then go do charity rides or something this is topsport and unless you have a topteam you don't deserve I don't care for what you have. if you are best rider with diabetes 1, props to you but if you are just a pro because you have diabetes 1 then that's lame in my book.

That was harsh

 

[hfer07]

no surprises at all-Zomegnan needed to add the national flavor to the very international participation. the quality of riders & teams is magnificent-I can't wait

 

[craig1985]

By the sounds of things Team Type 1 was considered for a spot, and I think it could happen in a couple of years time when the squad is a little bit more experienced in doing the bigger races in Europe. Sort of where BMC was at in 2007/2008 (where they did races like Romandie, Tour of Switzerland, Roubaix etc.).

 

[kurtinsc]

then go do charity rides or something this is topsport and unless you have a topteam you don't deserve I don't care for what you have. if you are best rider with diabetes 1, props to you but if you are just a pro because you have diabetes 1 then that's lame in my book.

I don't think they deserved a shot at the Giro this year, but the purpose of the team is to show that people with diabetes can compete in a sport like cycling. I don't necessarily think it's a "noble cause"... rather it's a project started by two amateur cyclists with type 1 diabetes trying to prove a point.

But the fact is, unlike their womens/elite/development/running/triathlon teams which are largely entirely made up of atheletes with type 1 diabetes... the pro team is only about 25% diabetic... and those aren't their top riders.

I consider it somewhat like Astana. They'll go out and get top riders from other nationalities... but you'll always see a few Kazak riders at the big events due to the focus of the team... even if other riders would be more valuable. Team Type 1's best riders will probably generally NOT be diabetics... but you'll see a few at any bigger races they get an invitation to.

I don't consider a rider getting a pro-ride because he's a diabetic when his performance suggests others would be more deserving any different from riders getting pro-rides because of nationality, friendships with a superstar, friendships with a sponsor/DS, or any other non-competitive reason. There are lots of riders who are on teams for reasons other then what they can do on a bike.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

I don't think they deserved a shot at the Giro this year, but the purpose of the team is to show that people with diabetes can compete in a sport like cycling. I don't necessarily think it's a "noble cause"... rather it's a project started by two amateur cyclists with type 1 diabetes trying to prove a point.

But the fact is, unlike their womens/elite/development/running/triathlon teams which are largely entirely made up of atheletes with type 1 diabetes... the pro team is only about 25% diabetic... and those aren't their top riders.

I consider it somewhat like Astana. They'll go out and get top riders from other nationalities... but you'll always see a few Kazak riders at the big events due to the focus of the team... even if other riders would be more valuable. Team Type 1's best riders will probably generally NOT be diabetics... but you'll see a few at any bigger races they get an invitation to.

I don't consider a rider getting a pro-ride because he's a diabetic when his performance suggests others would be more deserving any different from riders getting pro-rides because of nationality, friendships with a superstar, friendships with a sponsor/DS, or any other non-competitive reason. There are lots of riders who are on teams for reasons other then what they can do on a bike.

I know that however their top guys without diabetes aren't really top guys in a giro field either. so the team doesn't deserve a shot and what almost angers me is that they seemingly have no idea. have you read the ridiculous projections for the tour of california southerland made?? he things he will be with the best in the mountainstages and itt. wtf!