Firstly I think Flaminia are a poor team but to select a Spanish team like Xacebo-Galicia ahead of a similar Italian team with the Italian champion is a little strange.
The Giro organisers also left out a few Protour French teams for poor performances in previous years but Bbox Telecom are still there and they havent been any better than the other French teams in the Giro.
I also remember Gianni Savio defending the selection of his team over a team that had a few doping cases a few seasons ago. Well, now the shoe is on the other foot, I dont see Savio giving up his place at the Giro. No chance.
As for those who claim Simeoni is only famous becuase of the Lance incident, that is mostly true but remember it was Lance through his actions that created the story, not the other way round. All Simeoni did was testify against Michel Ferrari in court in 2002, that had nothing to do with Lance, but by chasing down Simeoni in 2004, he created a huge story.
For me this was the incident that put me firmly in the anti-Lance camp, before that incident, I was still sitting on the wall on Lance. All Simeoni did was confirm what most of us had believed since Ferrari arrived on the scene so I still dont see any justification why Lance chased him down.
Five years on, poor Simeoni is still paying for an incident that was not of his own making.